Luis Suarez
Reuters

Former Liverpool player and manager Kenny Dalglish feels the Reds are right in their plans to offer a new contract to controversial striker Luis Suarez.

The Uruguay international wanted to leave Anfield in the summer and join their Premier League rivals Arsenal. The 26-year-old was handed a 10-match ban by the FA last season for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic, after serving an eight-game suspension for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra.

However, despite the repeated controversies, Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre recently stated the club has moved on and is now ready to offer Suarez a contract extension. Dalglish agrees with it and claims the former Ajax star should get a new deal and should be judged only on his on-field performances.

"I think it's an excellent decision. I think they should lock him in a room until he signs it. It's a no-brainer if you're looking for footballers. If he wants to be at the club he will be. Luis Suarez will decide that, not anybody else. Liverpool don't want to get rid of him. They don't want him to go. He and Steven Gerrard are the two iconic players at the football club at the moment and they want them to stay there for as long as they want to be there," the former Reds forward stressed.

"I think any football club would be much better off if they've got Luis Suarez. He's a fantastic player. He's had a couple of problems but if you judge him purely on football, which we should be doing, then he is a fantastic footballer. There is no football club who would say no to Luis Suarez. I think he should be a Liverpool player, why shouldn't he be? He is not the first person who has had a couple of indiscretions to stay at the football club," Dalglish added.

Suarez returned from his 10-match ban and started in Liverpool's 1-0 defeat to Manchester United in the Capital One Cup tie at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

Manchester United FC