Looks as though Sturridge could start again in the league after reading this:
After overlooking him for most of last season, JĂźrgen Klopp claims Daniel Sturridge is now a vital part of his Liverpool plan.
Klopp rested Sturridge in midweek to keep him fresh for Saturdayâs return trip to Leicester â after the midweek League Cup defeat there â in a sign of his new status.
The England strikerâs Anfield fortunes have revived after it looked like he might leave because of his lack of opportunities. He made just seven league starts last season, with Klopp saying he had to learn the difference between injuries that were real and imagined.
Instead, fellow frontman Divock Origi went out on loan and Sturridge has asserted his position ahead of newcomer Dominic Solanke and fit-again Danny Ings in the pecking order.
Klopp spoke to Sturridge in the summer and insists he never wanted the former Chelsea hitman to go.
âYes, we did talk and it was good,â said Klopp. âIt was not a talk of him saying, âWhen can I go?â or, âWhere can I go?â Not that talk, but about what we planned for this season.
âIt is not he COULD be important. He IS important. But in the end, I have 11 players and stuff like this.
âWe are fine.â
Sturridge is valuable to Klopp as he tries to plug the sizeable hole left in his attack created by Sadio Maneâs suspension â the Senegalese flyer completes his three-match ban with this game.
The German should also appreciate Sturridgeâs worth because he is the best natural finisher at the club at a time when Liverpoolâs wastefulness in front of goal is costing them dear.
Despite often looking like a round peg in a square hole in his system, Klopp says his only ever issue with Sturridge has been his fitness.
He claims he is playing more now because he is finally fully fit and able to train properly
âHeâs always getting better because he can train all the time,â said Klopp.
âWe 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 he would have had 10 minutes, 30 minutes or extra-time.
âBut then we decided it was better to stay here and train twice, because he can get better physically.
Klopp is bidding to avoid a fourth defeat at the King Power Stadium in just 19 months, but he rejected talk of it being Liverpoolâs bogey ground.
He could never win at Hamburg when he was Borussia Dortmund boss and was determined to be positive in the wake of Liverpoolâs four-game winless run at Leicester, insisting their awful form there has to end some time.
âIf you lose somewhere, itâs more likely that you will then win at some point,â he argued.
âItâs about performing. I donât believe in bad places to go. If you think too much like that, then it can be like that.
âDortmund won yesterday at Hamburg. When I was there we never won there one time and after my time they had a bad record.
âObviously it changed. Thatâs how it is. Things can always change. I donât believe in things like this.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/klopp-insists-sturridge-vital-role-11219933
Logged