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Brendan Rodgers is “extremely confident” that Luis Suarez will still be a Liverpool FC player when the transfer window shuts.

The Uruguay striker still wants to quit Anfield in search of Champions League football but the Reds are adamant he’s going nowhere.

Suarez came off the bench for the final half-hour of Steven Gerrard’s testimonial against Olympiacos but didn’t join the rest of the squad at the captain’s gala dinner on Saturday night.

With the new Premier League campaign less than a fortnight away, Rodgers believes the time has come to draw a line under the summer-long saga.

“I’m extremely confident that Luis will be here,” Rodgers said.

“As time goes on I am gaining more confidence (that he stays) because I have got the chance to be with him on a day to day basis and he gets the chance to be around his team-mates. We are in total control of the situation and that is how it will remain.

“The owners have been first class right the way through the whole process and that fills me with confidence. They are in no hurry to sell. They understand that we are trying to build.

“There is a time line where you would never sell. We are at that stage now really because we’re so close to the beginning of the season.

“We are focused on Luis being here, getting in a couple more signings and being ready to challenge at the top of the table.”

With Suarez under contract until 2016, Liverpool are in a position of strength but Rodgers admits that won’t be the case if the prolific frontman still wants to leave next summer.

“Selling Luis is not something we want to be looking at this year,” he said.

“But we understand that next summer it could be different. A player with two years on his contract is totally different.

“Luis has got three years left and we are trying to bring in players to be around him so we can sustain a challenge this year.”

Arsenal wrongly believed Suarez had a release clause in his contract when they tabled an increased bid of £40million plus £1 last month.

The Gunners have yet to return with a higher offer and Rodgers wants Arsene Wenger to give up pursuing Suarez.

“I think there will come a point where Arsenal understand (that Luis not for sale),” he added. “They have an interest and put that interest in with two bids that is nowhere near what Luis would be worth. I was surprised by the second bid. I’ve always associated Arsenal as a club with class.

“ There may be a game there, but we will just move on and do our own work.”