Speculation has suggested the teenage forward could leave the club in the summer after finding first-team opportunities limited by the arrival of Robinho.

Sturridge has previously expressed his wish to remain with City, and the club have opened contract talks with the 19-year-old.

But an agreement has yet to be reached, sparking fresh conjecture that Sturridge - whose current deal expires at the end of the season - could walk away as a free agent.

Hughes, though, hopes the England Under-21 international will soon put pen-to-paper, telling the Manchester Evening News: "We would like to keep Daniel, he is a good young player.

"The problem is that his contract length isn't great and that is a situation that has been allowed to happen before I got here for whatever reason.

"We are trying to address that. We are being honest with the player and his agents and they understand the position we and they are in.

"We are obviously doing our best to keep Daniel."

Hughes is also optimistic Sturridge will be available to face Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday after recovering from an ankle injury.

"Daniel rejoined training yesterday," added the City boss. "He hadn't been with us for the last couple of weeks since he hurt his ankle.

"We will look to integrate him quickly. He has been working with the physios and hopefully will be an option at the weekend."