Mamadou Sakho not part of Liverpool first-team plans, confirms Jurgen Klopp

Mamadou Sakho will be allowed to leave Liverpool during the January transfer window after Jurgen Klopp made it clear that he is not part of the first-team.

The Reds defender was injured at the start of the season, but has since recovered and made four appearances for the club's U23 side. However, the French defender has not been recalled to the senior team and the German coach indicated ahead of their match against Bournemouth on Sunday (4 December) that he is not part of the first-team plans.

"Nothing has changed. He is not in these plans for the first team. The first team squad is here (at Melwood). You know all this," Klopp said, as quoted by the Liverpool Echo.

Sakho has not played for Liverpool since he was suspended at the end of last season for failing a drug test. The charges were later dismissed by the anti-doping body and the defender was given an all clear to continue his career with the Merseyside club. The France international was part of the Reds' pre-season tour to the United States but was sent back early for breaching club rules on more than one occasion.

Klopp made it clear during his pre-Bournemouth press conference that no first-team player will be allowed to leave, but his admission about Sakho indicates he will be allowed to leave. The former Paris Saint-Germain defender has been urged to find a new club by national team boss Didier Deschamps, and he could have his fair share of suitors should he choose to leave during the January transfer window.

"There has to be another solution for him to find another club in the January window," Deschamps was quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror.

Sakho made 22 appearances under Klopp last season, and still has four years remaining on his current deal with the club.