Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has reportedly told Mamadou Sakho that he will not play for the club this season unless he is loaned out.
The 26-year-old has endured a turbulent four-month spell, missing the closing stages of last season and Euro 2016 due to a failed drugs test that was later overturned, and then being sent home from the club's pre-season tour of America for disciplinary reasons.
Despite being a first-team regular last season, Liverpool are keen to loan Sakho out for the opening months of this term in order to improve his fitness levels.
However, the France international has already turned down moves to Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion, and the Liverpool Echo reports that he has been told that he will not play at Anfield unless he proves his fitness and professionalism elsewhere first.
Sakho is understood to have a future at the club, but Klopp is actively looking to send him out on a temporary basis before Wednesday night's transfer deadline.
Barney Corkhill
