Klopp crushes Sturridge departure rumours
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has crushed transfer rumours surrounding the departure of Daniel Sturridge.
The former Chelsea striker has made just two starts this campaign and was linked with a move away from Merseyside, but now Klopp has knocked those whispers on the head – said the Independent.
With Roberto Firmino playing in the middle of an attacking three, Sturridge has seen his game time restricted to just 174 minutes of football all season.
Despite terrorising defences as part of the Luis Suarez, Raheem Sterling axis under former boss Brendan Rodgers, the ex-Chelsea man has found life harder at Anfield under Klopp.
However, the German still insists he is a key part of the squad: “He is important, not ‘could be’. In the end, I have 11 players and stuff like this. We are fine,” the newspaper reported that he said.
Klopp continued to say that there were discussions at the end of 2016/2017 about this current campaign, but that it was constructive.
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“It was not a talk of him saying ‘when can I go?’ or ‘where can I go?’”, he continued. “Not that talk, but about what we planned for this season.”
A series of injuries has restricted the 28-year-old to just 25 England caps and meant Sturridge was unavailable for 30 games since the start of the 2015/2016 campaign.
His worst spell on the treatment table came during 2014/2015, when the striker was struck down with a hamstring injury and a hip problem in the same season which put him out for 34 games.
Sturridge has failed to hit the heights of his breakthrough Premier League campaign under Rodgers, in which he scored 21 goals in just 26 starts.
Since then, his best tally has been last term, when the 28-year-old scored eight times in 14 appearances.
This has led to the rumours surrouding his future and the importance Klopp places on the player in his side.
Especially with the team struggling to convert chances, is a born-and-bred forward the best way to go now?
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With Danny Ings and Dominic Solanke as the only other options for that role, Sturridge would feel aggrieved not to be given more game time.