CHELSEA CAREER
After his contract at Manchester City expired in the summer of 2009, the then 19-year-old forward chose Chelsea and the Champions League as the place to develop his talents further.
We already knew what he could do having seen him score against us in the FA Youth Cup Final a season earlier, and it was in the senior version of the FA Cup that he really began to make his mark at Stamford Bridge, netting four times in three games against Watford, Preston North End and Cardiff City in the 2010 run.
Signed as one for the future, Daniel 's ambition shone through immediately and he scored in a friendly against Seattle Sounders, turning sharply and slotting home. He was rewarded with a call-up to England Under 21s in August 2009, making his debut against Holland.
When the real business of the league campaign got going he had to be patient, waiting until October for a first Chelsea start, and then missing two big chances to get off the mark against Bolton in the Carling Cup.
Confidence remained high though, and his introduction against Fulham just after Christmas instigated a vital comeback. Then in the absence of Didier Drogba who was at the Africa Cup of Nations, January 2010 saw him begin to find the net as Carlo Ancelotti predicted he would, with the three Championship sides despatched on the way to the last eight of the FA Cup.
A first Premier League goal arrived in April when Stoke were put to the sword, followed by a league winners' medal after appearing 13 times.
Daniel ended that first season at Chelsea with five goals from 20 matches in all competitions.
The 2010/11 campaign brought another four in 21 games before a half-season loan deal with Bolton was agreed.
Daniel netted on his debut for Owen Coyle's side and scored consistently at Premier League level, ending his stay there with a total of eight goals in 12 appearances including one against Arsenal, only blemishing his record with a last-day red card that would see him suspended for the first three league games of 2011/12.
New manager Andre Villas-Boas used him in pre-season though, frequently from the right flank from where he could cut in and shoot or arrive at the back post for left-sided crosses.
Finally back from his ban, he netted in his first outing of the season with a deft back-heel at Sunderland, and added two more at the Reebok to really get going before a diving header set us up for a 3-1 win against Everton.
It seems potential is finally turning to proven Premier League, and above, ability.
PRE-CHELSEA
At Manchester City he first burst onto the first team scene in the 2007/08 season, scoring twice in four days in January for Sven Goran Eriksson's side, including an important equaliser at Derby County to earn a point.
A nephew of former Derby forward Dean Sturridge, Daniel arrived at City's Academy in 2003 from Coventry, having previously trained with Aston Villa.
He graduated to the senior squad at the beginning of the 2006/07 season and after injuries hampered his speedy progress, a hat-trick in the reserves prompted a debut in February 2007 as a late substitute.
The next season he was a more regular fixture in and around Mark Hughes's squad, netting four times in 26 appearances, 10 of which were starts, and was voted City's Young Player of the Year.
In January 2010, a tribunal decided that Chelsea must pay Manchester City an initial transfer fee of £3.5m, rising to £6.5m depending on appearances for club and the senior England team.
INTERNATIONAL CAREER
Dainiel debuted for England Under 16s in 2004, growing into a regular goalscorer at all levels before making his Under 21 debut shortly after joining the Blues.
In the summer of 2011 he was part of the England Under 21 side that contested the European Championships in Denmark and was the pick of the players with three lions on their shirts.
A full international call-up is surely on the horizon.
