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Brendan Rodgers insists he will “never count anyone out” as Fabio Borini looks to resurrect his Liverpool FC career.

The Reds boss advised the Italian striker to leave Anfield during the transfer window after telling him he didn’t feature in his plans.

Liverpool accepted offers from both Sunderland and Queens Park Rangers but to the club’s frustration Borini rejected a move and stayed put.

The 23-year-old is likely to find his opportunities limited over the coming months but Rodgers says the frontman knows where he stands.

“Fabio is still a player at the club,” Rodgers told the ECHO.

“He didn’t move on. He’s a squad player.

“His best interests was to go and maybe get game time elsewhere. But he’s decided not to go. He has his own reasons for it.

“He’s working with the group and there is no change. That’s where it’s at.

“I have ensured that he knows exactly the situation. No player can ever come knocking on the door and wondering why they aren’t playing.”

Borini finds himself in a similar situation to Lucas Leiva and Suso, who also remained at Anfield despite being heavily linked with a move elsewhere.

Lucas didn’t make the matchday 18-man squad for either of the past two matches but he could be included for the visit of Aston Villa today if Joe Allen doesn’t recover from a knee injury.

Suso, who is out of contract next summer, has also been overlooked in the opening weeks of the campaign.

“It’s not a case of knuckling down or a poor attitude, they work great every day,” Rodgers added.

“Suso has been excellent in training. Fabio is working his socks off and it’s the same with Lucas every day.

“What they will get hope from is that I never count anyone out.

“I have proven that. Players who are training well can always get the opportunity to play.

“I will never say they will never play for Liverpool because that’s not how I work. They were told the situation in terms of where it’s at. Now it’s up to them.

“Their game time could be limited but you never know with how football works.”