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Brendan Rodgers says Javier Manquillo remains part of his plans – despite the young Liverpool full-back’s lack of game time in recent months.

The 21-year-old Spaniard arrived at Anfield from Atletico Madrid on an initial two-year loan last summer.

Manquillo made 16 appearances before the turn of the year but since then he has featured on just three occasions. His last outing was when he came off the bench against Besiktas in February.

That has sparked talk of Manquillo being sent back to Atletico this summer but Rodgers has indicated that he will stay put.

“When the system changed it was obviously a little more difficult for him,” Rodgers said.

“Young Manqui is a good defender. He has come in, he signed a two-year loan because the first year was always going to be about adapting to the league and of course he hasn’t played as much as he probably would have liked to play.

“But a lot of that has been due to the system change. He is a good kid and hopefully he comes back in pre-season and can work well and work his way into the team.”