Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says he never doubted the quality of midfielder Naby Keita.

The Reds star took some time to settle following his move from RB Leipzig, but is now emerging as a key midfielder for the team.

He got a goal and assist in Liverpool's most recent 3-0 win against Bournemouth on Saturday.

"When you see a player like this, you ask why is he not playing week in, week out?" Klopp told reporters about Keita.

"Naby had injuries and then the team was in a really good shape, so do you change? If you want to change, we are not flying. It's not as though we have won all our games four or five nil, so we've had to bring on a player who will help us with defending set-pieces and all that stuff.

"Naby's not been playing, I get that. So we stayed in contact and spoke a lot about it. In the end a player needs to have this evidence that his manager still believes in him. I was never in doubt about him and [Saturday] has helped a lot, it's really nice.

"He's just been unlucky," Klopp added.

"And in life you need luck always.

"He started really well. Everyone forgot that and then he got injured and we've had two really good seasons. When something's working, it's not like you [can] squeeze five more percent of the performance with another player.

"The boys got more and more used to each other, but then another injury came and he started again. Like this year, he wasn't 100 percent when he started pre-season, but I was never in doubt about his quality."`