Peter Crouch has been given a reassurance by Rafa Benitez that he has a future at Liverpool.

The beanpole England international’s future at Anfield had been the subject of some speculation, so Crouch met with Benitez to ask him about his future, which Benitez was shocked at.

You can’t blame Crouch for asking, following the signings of Ryan Babel, Fernando Torres and Andrei Voronin along with Dirk Kuyt already at the club.

A lot of the lads went to see the manager at the end of the season,” Crouch told the Daily Express. “I was no different.

“There had been speculation and I was tentative about going in to see him.

“I did not want to leave, but if he has said I had to then I would.

“But he was sort of taken aback that I was even asking really and said ‘Of course you’re in my plans’.

“That was good to hear because it meant it wasn’t even an issue for him.”

“I thought I did well at the end of my first year, and it was then a case of, can he prove it over the course of a whole season?
“Hopefully, I did that last year and now I’d like to kick on to another level.”