Liverpool manager offers support to out-of-favour striker

Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp insists he never considered selling Daniel Sturridge in the summer and he remains a vital part of his plans this season.

Sturridge was surprisingly dropped for Liverpool’s 2-0 defeat to Leicester in midweek but Klopp insists that was to keep him fresh for Saturday’s Premier League clash against the Foxes.

The England international has struggled to establish himself as a first-team regular under Klopp and there were suggestions he would be offloaded in the summer following the arrival of Dominic Solanke and Mohamed Salah.

However, it was Divock Origi that was farmed out and Klopp is adamant that Sturridge is a vital player for Liverpool this season.

“Yes, we did talk [in the summer] and it was good,” The Daily Mirror quote Klopp as saying ahead of the weekend. “It was not a talk of him saying, ‘when can I go?’ or, ‘where can I go?’ Not that talk, but about what we planned for this season.

“It is not he could be important. He is important. But in the end, I have 11 players and stuff like this. We are fine. He’s always getting better because he can train all the time.

“We decided not to take him to Leicester [in midweek] and that was a responsible decision. We would have taken him, but he would not have started. Maybe we would have had 10 minutes, 30 minutes or extra-time.

“But then we decided it was better to stay here and train twice, because he can get better physically.”

Sturridge has started two of Liverpool’s five Premier League games this season and is already only two goals behind equalling his tally across 20 appearances last term (3).

However, the 28-year-old has never started more than 11 league games in a single-campaign since August 2014 and it remains to be seen whether he will be given a serious run in the team this season.