The Chelsea winger has impressed the manager this season, with the Northern Irishman keen to bolster his “thin” squad but insists his current focus is on the Merseyside derby
Brendan Rodgers is open to loanee Victor Moses remaining at Liverpool next season, but admits any stay is down to parent club Chelsea.
The winger has struggled for starts at Anfield but scored only his second goal of the season as the Reds overcame Bournemouth in the FA Cup on Saturday, and Rodgers has been impressed by his application.
“For Victor, it is very simple,” Rodgers told reporters. “He wants to remain in a position that he will remain at a big club, whether it is Chelsea or Liverpool. There is no bigger motivation than that.
“In order to do that, he needs to be performing day in day out in training. If he does really well for us there is a possibility we will want to have him permanently, but ultimately it is Chelsea’s decision because he is their player.
“And if he has done really well then they will want to keep him. So there’s every motivation. When you sample the life of the big institutions like Liverpool then there’s not many that want to leave.
“I have known Victor since he was a young player so wanted to take him into another big club and give him that opportunity.
“Despite one or two things I have seen that were written, he has absolutely loved it. He is never one to complain. I have seen improvements in his training.
“That is the big part of it for me: How he plays well on a daily basis. Because if the top players are training nine or 10 out of 10 every day and you have players who are five or maybe six out of 10 every day, then they are not ready to train with [the top players] never mind play games with them.
“So you have to get them up to the level – and I am not just talking Victor here – I’m talking any player. If you’re at a club like Liverpool and there are top players you have to be at that level every single day eight or nine out of 10 every day and once you do that you will be able to play with these guys.”
Rodgers added that he remains keen to bolster his Liverpool squad, with Chelsea beating them to the signing of Mohamed Salah, but insists his main focus is on the visit of Everton on Tuesday.
“I’d always want more [signings], there’s no question about that. We’d always want to strengthen. But if I don’t it won’t be because the club hasn’t tried. It’s getting the right types of players,” he said.
“I think our squad has been thin most of the season, we’ve just been unfortunate we’ve had a number of injuries. But my first look will always be to the young players.
“The Everton game means everything. It’s a massive game. I really hope we can turn that home advantage into a win and that would give us a four-point advantage over Everton.
“The most important thing is to stay focused and relaxed on the performance and the result we take care of itself.”