French defender is poised to make his Reds debut on Monday.
Brendan Rodgers has warned new £18 million defender Mamadou Sakho that he will have to fight for his place in the Liverpool team.
Rodgers forked out the biggest fee of his managerial tenure at Anfield to sign the 23-year-old from Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint Germain towards the end of the transfer window and he could make his debut against Swansea on Monday.
However, the Reds boss has also told the France international that his price-tag alone won’t guarantee him a starting spot every week – pointing to midfielder Jordan Henderson as an example – and he’ll select the team based on performance.
“It doesn’t matter one iota. It is not me that puts the price on them,” he told the Daily Star. “You judge the player on what he is giving you every single day. That’s why I think it was unfair on the likes of Jordan Henderson.
“Jordan didn’t set the price tag (£16m) on his head – he came in for a lot of money as a young player.
“He’s shown over time and with confidence that you can be a very good player. For me it doesn’t matter whether it was £1, a free transfer or £50m.
“You want good players with strong mentalities, players that are willing to be brave on the ball and want to win games – irrespective of the price.”
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