After Barcelona saw a bid for the Reds defender rejected, the Anfield manager is confident his vice-captain will remain loyal to the club and wants to stay on Merseyside

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is confident Daniel Agger will not target an Anfield exit following Barcelona’s rejected bid for the defender.

The Dane’s agent revealed on Wednesday the Catalan giants failed with a recent offer after submitting a £25 million bid for Chelsea centre-back David Luiz.

And with Luis Suarez making no secret of his desire to leave Liverpool, Rodgers does not expect similar behaviour from vice-captain Agger.

“Daniel has given me his word that he loves Liverpool and I will expect him to be here,” Rodgers is quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror.

“He had chances to leave, but told me as long as we wanted him here, then he wanted to stay.

“He’s been brilliant, that is why we have given him the vice-captaincy. The one thing I got from him from the very first conversation is loyalty.

“That is why he signed a new contract and committed himself to the club, and why we gave him a new contract – because we want him to be part of our future.

“He is important to the way we play, and he has been central to the way we work since I came here, and he knows that. There have been a couple of inquiries, but we have made our position clear.”