Gerrard believes teammate is ‘happy’ at Anfield.
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard believes Luis Suarez will not leave Liverpool this summer.
The controversial Uruguayan has been the Reds’ star player this season, netting 21 Premier League goals, but is currently serving a 10-match suspension for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic.
The 26-year-old former Ajax striker has been linked with a summer exit from Anfield, with reports suggesting Champions League finalist Bayern Munich are keen on Suarez’s services.
But Gerrard is confident Suarez will remain on Merseyside next season.
“Luis has done the right thing by apologising and taking his medicine,” Gerrard told the Liverpool Daily Post.
“He’s really unhappy he can’t help the team, and he was really down when the ban came through. But once he is back from his ban, we will be the ones that benefit.
“Luis will want to make it up to the club and the team that he has been out for so long. He will be desperate to atone for that.
“I don’t think that what’s happened to Luis will affect him much in terms of his future.”
Gerrard did hint that he expects his teammate to move on eventually but says there are no signs Suarez is unhappy at Liverpool at present.
“Maybe one day we will have to accept that Luis wants to move on, and that will be his decision.
“But I don’t see any signs of it at the moment. Luis has been really happy here at Liverpool and he seems settled here. I don’t see him wanting to leave right now.”
Liverpool hammered Newcastle 6-0 last weekend in the absence of Suarez and Gerrard is confident the Reds can cope without their star player for the rest of the season, starting with Sunday’s Merseyside derby against Everton at Anfield.
“In an ideal world we’d have Luis available because he makes the team a lot stronger. He’s had a phenomenal season, but I have a lot of confidence and belief in the squad of players we have got,” added Gerrard.
“We can cope without Luis until the end of the season. Certainly, I don’t go into the game at the weekend feeling we can’t win the game because Luis isn’t there.”
Gerrard did concede that Suarez cannot do it all by himself next season and conceded a new forward must be high on manager Brendan Rodgers’ summer shopping list.
“You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know we still need another striker,” he said.
“You look at top teams in Europe and at United, City and Chelsea, and they all have three or four top strikers. That’s something we haven’t had.
“We had one until January. Then Sturridge came in and we have two. In my opinion, to compete at the top we need to have three or four strikers.”
COMMENTS