Klopp soothes Liverpool fans as he dismisses Sturridge’s positional concerns

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Jurgen Klopp has claimed he doesn’t want to use Daniel Sturridge as a wide man long-term.

Sturridge had expressed dissatisfaction with being played on the right of the front three – a position he took up against both Burnley last week and Burton Albion in the League Cup on Tuesday.

He insisted he didn’t see the England man as a winger – telling reports he wanted to see the play in and around the box.

“I don’t want to play Daniel as a wide player,” he said.

“Burnley and Burton were games where we actually didn’t need an offensive winger – that job should be filled by the full-backs.

“The players really skilled in finishing situations, you have them in and around the box.” (via Echo).

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He did, however, warn the 26-year-old that he’d need to be flexible.

“Of course he can start [on the wing]. Of course he can play there, but in the decisive moments, he needs to be involved in all the finishing situations,” he added.

“Both goals he scored from inside the box so he was not on the wing in this moment.

“That’s flexible football but of course you need to find a formation for players to start in.

“It’s how football works. It’s not a fixed position. You don’t stay and wait until you get the ball and especially not in Daniel’s case. When Daniel for example plays as the No 9, in the centre, and just stays there – that makes no sense. You have to change positions.

“Daniel is a very smart player at hiding himself in positions where it’s not easy to defend and that’s very often on the wing.”

He finished by denying rumours that players had expressed unhappiness with their positions directly to him. Both Daniel and James Milner have spoken out publically in the last week.

“Nobody has said to me: ‘I don’t want to play there’.

“Like I said, it’s not that you play there and wait for something to happen. It’s flexible football, passing movements, patterns, and all these things.”

Do you feel better after reading those quotes?! Let us know…

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