Klopp insists Sturridge is 'important' at Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp has reiterated that Daniel Sturridge remains a crucial part of his plans at Liverpool and has brushed aside rumours suggesting he was ready to leave Anfield this summer.
Sturridge made his first Premier League start in Liverpool's lacklustre draw at home to Burnley last weekend.
Despite looking sharp at times, Sturridge struggled to make an impact throughout the majority of the game.
Klopp has a wealth of attacking talent at his disposal, which has pushed the 28-year-old down the pecking order at Anfield and raised questions over his future at the club.
Despite a summer of uncertainty, Klopp has insisted Sturridge has a role to play at Liverpool.
'We did speak in the summer and it was good,' said Klopp. 'It was not him saying, "When can I go?" or 'Where can I go?", but about what we planned for this season.
'He is important, not could be. But in the end, I have 11 players. We are fine. We decided not to take him to Leicester on Tuesday but it was again a kind of responsible decision. We could have taken him but he would not have started. Maybe he 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. He's always getting better because he can train all the time.'