Oct 1 (Reuters) – Former Liverpool and Chelsea forward Daniel Sturridge has joined Australian side Perth Glory for detik the upcoming season, after being without a club for more than 18 months, the team said in a statement website

The 32-year-old has been without a team since March 2020 when he terminated his contract with Turkey’s Trabzonspor after being banned for four months by the English FA for breaching betting rules.

Sturridge, who won the Premier League with Chelsea and Champions League titles with the London club and Liverpool, began training with Spanish side Real Mallorca in July to build up his fitness.

He scored 68 goals in all competitions during a six-year stint at Liverpool and also had spells at Manchester City, Bolton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity to try a new challenge,” Sturridge told the Perth team’s website.

“When the opportunity came about, it felt like the right thing to do, to take my talent somewhere where I can enjoy my football in a competitive league and try and help the team be as successful as they possibly can be.

“I’m going to put my best foot forward, work hard and try and help the team win each game that comes by and then we’ll see where we end up when the season finishes.”

Perth will kick off their campaign at home to Adelaide United on Nov. 20.

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford )