Jurgen Klopp has praised Roberto Firmino for being Liverpool's "connector" after the striker scored twice against Leicester on Boxing Day.
Firmino struck either side of half-time in Liverpool's 4-0 victory, ending a run of four Premier League games without a goal.
And Klopp has revealed that he had to reassure the Brazilian of his value to the team during his recent dry patch.
“Bobby has four goals in three games and before that he didn’t score that often,” Klopp said.
“When people tell me previously Bobby didn’t score for a while I didn’t realise. When I think about Bobby I don’t think about scoring. I think about how important he is.
“We had a bit of a talk because for the first time since I knew him he looked a little bit concerned about that fact. I told him I am not interested in that number because he is the connector for our team. He is so important for us. He is not the only one who can play that position but he can play that position in a very special way.
"Obviously he doesn’t have come [to hug me] every goal but this time he thought I was calm enough to leave him on the pitch in these games and he thought he has to say thank you," Klopp added, referring to Firmino's celebration after one of his goals against Leicester.
Liverpool return to Premier League action on Sunday, when Wolves travel to Anfield.
And Klopp has admitted that he was one of several high-profile managers who had been tracking Wolves forward Adama Traore earlier in his career.
"Of course, everyone knew him. At Barcelona, I saw thousands of players and he was there as a kid. I saw him at Boro, he was exceptional but someone had to give him the right information.
"Big big talent and you don’t think he’s young, but he is still very young. Now, he found the right situation. Everyone was pretty sure that would happen and now it has at Wolves. Makes it really dangerous. In a big space,
"[Jamie] Vardy is difficult to defend, but I would say Traore is even harder to defend because his speed is incredible."
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