GETTY Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is considering loaning out Mamadou Sakho

The France defender continues to boast support at Liverpool with the club’s hierarchy believing he needs to ‘find himself’ after a troubled period and prove himself elsewhere. The idea would be that Sakho would then return to Anfield and press for a starting role under Jurgen Klopp. Sakho has previously interested AS Roma and the prospect of a temporary switch could prod other clubs in Italy and Europe into taking note of his availability. The centre-back has endured a difficult six months after being accused of failing a drugs test following a Europa League game against Manchester United in March. He missed the end of the season, including Liverpool’s Europa League final against Sevilla, and then Euro 2016 on home soil only to be subsequently cleared of any offence.

Eight Liverpool stars who could be axed this summer Fri, July 8, 2016 Eight Liverpool players could be axed this summer as Jurgen Klopp undergoes a revamp of his Reds squad, according to the Daily Mirror. But which stars could be shown the door? Play slideshow Getty Images 1 of 9 Eight Liverpool players could be axed this summer as Jurgen Klopp undergoes a revamp of his Reds squad, according to the Daily Mirror. But which stars could be shown the door?

Sakho was then sent home from Liverpool’s pre-season tour of America after flouting team rules. An Achilles injury compounded those issues and there is a sense at Liverpool that the player needs to go elsewhere in the short term. Liverpool are not giving up on Sakho, although he will have to display real resolve to reingratiate himself fully. He is currently training on his own and has not travelled to Burton for Tuesday's League Cup clash. Klopp has started the season with Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan at centre-back, while Joel Matip is in reserve. Lucas Leiva showed he could play at centre-back last season and has been stopped from joining Galatasaray, while Joe Gomez is heading back to fitness. Tiago Ilori will also be allowed to leave with Olympiakos interested in a £5m move. Sakho is not the only player causing concern to Klopp, who says talk is cheap when it comes to getting Daniel Sturridge back to his best. Sturridge looked well off the pace when he made his latest comeback from injury on Saturday.

It was the striker’s first competitive outing since England’s collective failure at Euro 2016 after the 26-year-old missed the end of Liverpool’s pre-season preparations and the Reds’ thrilling opening-night win at Arsenal. He may get the chance to build on his sharpness at Burton Albion in the EFL Cup if Klopp feels he’s fit enough for another game so soon. But the manager admits he can’t be the sole solution to helping Sturridge put his injury concerns behind him. “Obviously there is a bit I can do to help him but you have to accept as a manager that it is really rare you can say 100 per cent what a player wants to hear,” said Klopp. “Most of the time when it is positive, you don’t want to say all the positive things because you are not sure how he can handle this. “But you don’t want to say all the negative things, because when a player doesn’t feel too good you want to help him feel better.