Monday, 28th January, 2013
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has admitted that he feels defender Sebastian Coates needs to get games under his belt, but stressed he is undecided about sending the Uruguayan out on loan.
It has been speculated that Coates could be loaned out for the final half of the season in order to speed up his development.
Coates’ lack of game time was exposed by Oldham Athletic in the FA Cup yesterday, as the third-tier side put Liverpool out of the FA Cup, a competition they reached the final of last season.
And Rodgers admits the young centre-back needs to play.
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"We haven’t had any approaches. There’s obviously lots of speculation and lots of rumours but so far we haven’t had anything through from any club", Rodgers was quoted as saying on his club’s official site, when asked about Coates.
"I have said in the last couple of weeks that he is a player who I believe needs games and needs to go and play but obviously, I need to protect the club as well in relation to the size of the group", he continued.
"Everyone knows how small we are as a squad. It might be the best thing for Seba to go on loan, but it might not necessarily be the best thing for the club.
"There’s still a few more days to go, so we’ll assess that and take it from there."
Liverpool are in action on Wednesday night, when they face a tough looking trip to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal.
The game is a vital one for any hopes Liverpool have of still finishing in the Premier League’s top four this season.
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