Sturridge remains a big part of my plans, says Klopp

JURGEN KLOPP is adamant Daniel Sturridge remains a crucial part of Liverpool’s squad and revealed there was never any chance of him leaving this summer.

Sturridge started for the first time in the Premier League last week against Burnley but he struggled to make an impact and faces a challenge to be involved from the start at Leicester this evening.

The England striker (right) has lost his position as Liverpool’s main forward, with Klopp using him more as an impact player from the bench. Sturridge has not found it easy to adjust to the change.

Yet for all the speculation about his future at the end of last season, Liverpool received no serious offers for the 28-year-old.He subsequently had a good pre-season, tackling all the running that was asked of him — unlike in previous summers — and Klopp insists Sturridge’s importance within the squad should not be questioned. ‘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.’

Liverpool will have to be ready for some aerial bombardment at the King Power Stadium this evening and Klopp is wary of the threat that will be posed. ‘They go for set-pieces: (Christian) Fuchs will be back probably so that means throw-ins are back in the game and all that stuff,’ he said.

Meanwhile, Liverpool’s supporters will be allowed to travel to Moscow next Tuesday for their Champions League group game against Spartak after there had been fears UEFA would order a ground closure after hooligans from the Russian clubs fired a flare at the referee during their opening Group D game in Maribor.