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Mamadou Sakho is so important to Liverpool , the Reds would already be in the Champions League if he had been available at the end of last season.

The Frenchman is currently on loan at Crystal Palace and former Reds Under-23s boss Michael Beale, who coached him during the defender’s six-month exile from the first team, has lamented his departure from Anfield.

Sakho was banned by UEFA towards the end of the 2015/16 campaign for an alleged anti-doping violation – which he was later cleared of – before his ill-discipline on the club’s pre-season tour of America this summer saw him demoted from the senior squad.

The 27-year-old moved to Selhurst Park in January, moving from a club fighting to be in the Champions League to one battling to stay away from the Championship.

But Beale believes Sakho would have led his side to Europe’s top competition this season – by virtue of success over Sevilla in last year’s Europa League final.

The centre-back’s chances of returning to play for Liverpool are slim, having not played for them since last April, with the club wanting to sell him for £30million this summer.

Beale, now an assistant coach at Brazilian side Sao Paolo, believes it is a shame club and player cannot reconcile.

“It is a shame what happened at Liverpool,” Beale said. “Both parties have lost. Sakho is playing for a club that I think he is too good to play for.

“Everyone is looking for a left-footed centre half. If it is to be that he leaves Liverpool, he won’t be short of offers. He will likely move on.

“It will be sad if there cannot be some form of reconciliation, because I think Liverpool still need him. Jurgen felt he could go with other players.

“If Sakho was able to play against Sevilla in the Europa League final, Liverpool would have won. I am sure of that.

“That would have changed the whole course of things at Liverpool; they would have been in the Champions League, extra revenue, attract better players etc. Maybe Klopp cannot forget that. I don’t know the ins and outs.”

(Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)

Sakho has been praised for his performances since joining Sam Allardyce’s side, helping the Eagles move out of the relegation zone with four consecutive wins.

Beale has hailed the impact of Sakho at the relegation-battlers, and revealed how the star prepared for the move with his Under-23s side.

“When he first came to us at the Under-23s, I didn’t really know what happened with the manager,” Beale told Sky Sports. “I didn’t want to know, and I said to him that as long as he respected me and the Under-23 players and staff then we wouldn’t have a problem. He went well beyond that.

“From that day onwards he was getting changed in a Portakabin. He was never, ever late, and he worked his socks off. He could not have been a better professional. You are seeing the results of that work now at Palace.

“Although we had some good players in that group - Ben Woodburn and Trent Alexander-Arnold - he was playing in front of 1,000 people, and was the target for everyone, being so famous. His attitude was outstanding. I have never seen anything like it.

“We built a really good relationship, and he texted me when he joined Palace, obviously pleased to have made the move.

“For a team like Crystal Palace, he is a god-send. He is not usually someone they could afford, or even pay that sort of salary. He is inspirational to others around him. He is one of those guys who just walks into a dressing room and has a presence, you know they are there.

“He wasn’t in great physical condition when he came to us, but I watched the game against Chelsea at the weekend, and he was everywhere - his condition has improved markedly. We worked him hard, and he never once complained.

“Chelsea played quite well but couldn’t score, and Sakho was one of the reasons. The ball was like a magnet to him in the box. He also had that look back in his eye.”