Rodgers: I invited Klopp round for Liverpool chat

“We sat and had a chat at my house”, Rodgers said.

Rodgers backed him for success, however, saying that Lewandowski also started off slowly, and Benteke can be a player in a similar mold: “In this Premier League, he wouldn’t have been given the chance that he was given in Germany, in his first season he scored eight goals”.

Markovic has played 13 times for the club this campaign and has spoken of his desire to make the move permanent; such was his harrowing experience during the summer when he was dropped from the first team.

Despite getting sacked, Rodgers has revealed that he was more than happy to welcome his successor into his home.

“We felt at that time that Christian was up there in terms of goals to games”, said the ex-Liverpool manager, reflecting on his £32.5M signing.

However Rodgers sought to defend his purchases, singling out Christian Benteke as a player who would eventually come good. “He stopped playing me and then at the start of the season he didn’t even include me in the squad, and nobody explained to me what was going on or what his plans were, so I chose to leave”.

Liverpool have important matches upcoming in February, culminating with the League Cup final on February 28.

And, although Liverpool were tipped to climb the table under Klopp’s stewardship, the trio of Sky Sports pundits believe that West Ham will have enough to hold off Liverpool’s challenge. [Now] you’re coming into the most competitive league in the world. But if Rodgers thought he could help a peer, if he thought he could help Liverpool, he was there to do so. You’ve had a month of them and you want a break. They’re areas that need to be improved if the forward is to have a long-term future at the club. At the moment, this is a side that remains very much in the Northern Irishman’s image, though, and, as such, any judgement about the current manager would be premature.