Liverpool striker Peter Crouch wants assurances that he still figures in manager Rafael Benitez's plans before he signs a new contract.

Crouch has started just nine Premier League matches this season following the arrival of Fernando Torres last summer.

The England international's current contract runs out at the end of next season, and he has admitted that he may be forced to look elsewhere for more regular first-team football if he remains on the fringes at Liverpool.

Crouch said: "When all is said and done, I don't think I can have another season like this year where I've started nine Premier League games. Out of a 38-game league season, nine games is not the amount you want to be playing.

"I'll have to speak to the manager and see what his plans are. I need to see him and sort things out. I have to find out what he wants from me next season and whether or not I can continue with that. In some ways, I want to feel wanted.

"So I'd like to speak to the manager and the club before I commit to anything and know whether or not I'll be here next year."

Crouch was Benitez's first major signing after winning the Champions League in 2005, with the six-foot-seven striker arriving from Southampton for £7 million.

However, it became clear early on this season that the Spanish manager does not believe Crouch can play with Torres, and there have been rumours of a return to two of his former clubs, Portsmouth and Aston Villa.

Crouch said: "It's always nice to know that if things did go completely wrong for me at Liverpool, I'd have options to go somewhere else and it's not the end of the world if things don't work out for me there."

Tony Mabert / Eurosport