Joe Rimmer of the Liverpool Echo has been discussing Xherdan Shaqiri’s future on a recent edition of the Blood Red Podcast.
The Swiss international was a bit-part player for Jurgen Klopp’s side during the 2019/20 season, making just seven appearances in the Premier League and contributing just the one goal, which came in the Merseyside derby victory over Everton back in December 2019 (as per Transfermarkt.co.uk).
The Reds signed the former Inter and Bayern Munich man from Stoke City back in July 2018 in a deal reportedly worth £13.23m, but since his arrival, he has managed just 41 appearances for the club, scoring seven goals and providing five assists (as per Transfermarkt.co.uk).
When discussing the 28-year-old’s Anfield future on the podcast, Rimmer said: “I think we’ve seen the last of him. I didn’t think we’d see him at all from when we came back. I thought they were just saving him like they were saving Lallana, he did briefly appear, but after that, they’ve gone with other options; they’ve gone with [Takumi] Minamino, they’ve gone with [Curtis] Jones. You can tell, I think, just from looking at Klopp’s team selections who’s in the long-term plans and perhaps who isn’t.”
Will you be glad to see the back of Xherdan Shaqiri?
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TIF Thoughts…
Given Shaqiri’s lack of football, you can understand why Rimmer is convinced the £14.4m-rated winger will be moved on this summer. According to WhoScored.com, the player’s average performance rating in the Premier League during last season was 6.34/10, which doesn’t make great reading, however, it is worth noting that Shaqiri made just two starts for Liverpool in the English top flight, therefore, the sample size is very small.
Taking into account the player’s experience and the fact he is a Premier League winner and two-time UEFA Champions League winner, we expect there will be a number of clubs interested in taking him on over the summer.