Kop stars beg Suarez to stay

Posted Sunday, July 28, 2013 by The Sun

STEWART DOWNING says Liverpool's players have launched a united front in a bid to convince Luis Suarez to stay at Anfield.

The England winger insists Suarez's desire to move to Arsenal has done little to dent his popularity in the dressing room.
Liverpool rejected an increased bid of £40,000,001 for Suarez from the Gunners this week.

And Downing is desperately hoping the Londoners refuse to meet the Merseysiders’ £55million valuation.

He said: “It's so important for us to keep hold of him as Luis is one hell of a player.

“He's had some good discussions with the manager which will remain private.

“For us as players nothing changes. He's still the same player and he's a great lad to have around the place.

“He gets on well with all the lads.

“Luis knows we all want him to stay. It’d be so disappointing to lose him.”

Downing dismissed claims that the ongoing speculation over Suarez's future is having a detrimental impact on Liverpool's pre-season.

But the former Middlesbrough man admits retaining the services of last season's 30-goal hitman is vital to the club's hopes of launching a push for Champions League qualification this term.

Downing added: “What's going on with Luis isn't a distraction. Pre-season has gone really well and we've got some good results. Now we want to really push on.

Kop stars beg Suarez to stay

“Since he came back Luis has been training really well and I think whatever happens with his Liverpool future will be sorted out in the next week or two.

“We want to keep our best players to help us get into the Champions League. That has to be our aim.

“We've strengthened the squad with new signings and I'm sure there will be a few more to come.

“If we can reproduce the form we showed in the second half of last season, we'll have a good chance of breaking into that top four.

“We want Luis to be part of that. He's a top player, one of the best in the world — we saw that with the goals he scored last season.”

Suarez's late cameo in the win over Melbourne Victory on Wednesday was his first appearance for the club since April's bite on Branislav Ivanovic which earned him a 10-game ban.

With Liverpool adamant they won't sell unless someone matches their valuation, Reds boss Brendan Rodgers has vowed to keep playing the Uruguay star.

Suarez is expected to be involved in today's final tour game against Thailand in Bangkok.

And Rodgers said: “Nothing has changed — Luis is still very much a part of the group.

“Obviously he will miss the early part of the season due to suspension but he will have some part to play in the remaining friendly games.

“He's working hard and he's working well. There have been no issues.

“He's a number of weeks behind the others but he's working tirelessly to get up to speed.”

Kolo Toure and Philippe Coutinho are set to return to action today after missing the midweek game Down Under with minor injuries.

Rodgers added: “We probably won't make as many subs as we have in previous games and some players will get 90 minutes.

“We're playing against a very good Thai team who won their last game 5-1 against China.

“When we started planning our pre-season six months ago we wanted each game to be a step up from the previous one and this one will be.

“It's a case of continuing the good work. I asked the players to reclaim the mentality and focus we had in second half of last season and from the first day of pre-season they have been superb.”