Reds boss Jurgen Klopp insists the forward has a big part to play following crunch summer talks over his Anfield future.

Sturridge, 28, was tipped to move on after a frustrating spell of injuries and time on the bench.

But there was never any chance of the England star leaving, according to Klopp.

Klopp said: “We did talk and it was good. 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.

“He is important, not could be.”

Sturridge has started just two games so far this campaign ahead of today’s clash against Leicester.

And he was left out of the squad for the trip to the King Power Stadium that saw Liverpool crash out of the Carabao Cup against today’s opponents.

Klopp said: “We decided not to take him to Leicester and it was a kind of 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. 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.”

While Liverpool’s leaky defence has cost them points this season, their attack remains explosive with summer signing Mohamed Salah one of the leading lights.

The £39m signing from Roma has already netted six goals this term making his record transfer fee look a better deal as each game goes by.

“I can never say a fee like this was cheap,” said Klopp.

“But he’s a very good player, one we were convinced about. That’s why we did it.

“You could see in the first game at Watford, it as quite difficult. It was really physical and maybe a few people had doubts and thought it would be difficult for him.

“But he played better than anyone could have imagined. He was at Chelsea, but he was a kid there. Now he’s much more mature and everything is better.”