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Klopp: Lallana is crucial to Liverpool

Cape Town - Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has emphasised the importance of holding on to midfielder Adam Lallana, after the player signed a new contract last week.

The England international penned a new three-year deal with the Reds after impressing the German tactician this season.

Lallana joined the Merseyside outfit from Southampton for £25m in 2014 and has since become one of the team's most valuable players.

"For me it was clear we had to try everything to keep a player like him. He is a very important player for us," Klopp told the press.

"I heard when I came in what a lot of people had said about him before I came in, but I actually only knew him from Southampton.

"Since I've been here he has been a really important player for all our development steps which we made - not only for him personally.

"I have a lot of time together with the players but I am not in the dressing room so you need to have players there too and he is one of them."

Meanwhile, caretaker boss Craig Shakespeare will be hoping to get off to a good start when he leads the Foxes in their first match of the post Ranieri era against Liverpool at the King Power Stadium on Monday night.

Shakespeare came in for criticism for his role played in the sacking of the Italian coach who was voted as Fifa's Coach of the Year last season.

Ranieri is believed to have lost the dressing room and became increasingly involved on the training pitch, in a move that left the highly-regarded Shakespeare marginalised.

Kick off is at 22:00.

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