Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola has insisted that Mario Gotze is an "important" player to the team.

The 23-year-old, who returned to action last month after being out since October with a hamstring injury, has featured just seven times in the Bundesliga this season.

Liverpool and Juventus are rumoured to have expressed an interest in the German World Cup winner, but Guardiola, who will leave Bayern to take charge at Manchester City in the summer, has claimed that Gotze is a key player at the Allianz Arena.

"He needs more time, but he is getting better week after week," Goal.com quotes Guardiola as saying. "I have seven strikers.

"[He is] very professional. He thinks about football 24 hours a day. We have another three months [of the season to go]. We need all the players so that we can achieve our goals. He was, and is, important."

Gotze joined Bayern from Borussia Dortmund in 2013.