Roberto Mancini says he would never have let Daniel Sturridge leave Man City had he been in charge back in 2009.
As Sturridge prepares to face his former club on Monday night, Mancini says he found it strange his club – then under Mark Hughes’ management – were deterred by his £70k-a-week wages and allowed him to go to London.
The Italian told the Daily Mail: “It was strange because Sturridge was developed in Manchester [in the academy] and someone let him go. If Sturridge was here today he’d be in the first team as I’ve watched him many times and know him well.
“When we played Bolton last year [where Sturridge was on loan from Chelsea], I asked him why he had left City and he said he didn’t know. It would have been better for City to send him on loan to improve than let him leave altogether.”
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