Xherdan Shakiri has been a bit-part player at Liverpool. Been unable to command a starting birth since his arrival, which has seen Sadio Mane, Roberto Firminho and Mohammed Salah forming an unshakable partnership, which has been one of the best attacking trio in recent years.
Liverpool’s consistent front three has seen Shakiri’s game time very limited and this has generated some speculations on the possibility of his exit from Anfield.
The 28-year-old Switzerland International winger had earlier played for some top clubs like Basel, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich before arriving at EPL side Stoke City, where he was before signing for Liverpool for a reported £13.5 million fee.
A full International since 2010, Shaqiri has earned over 80 caps and scored 22 goals for Switzerland. He represented his nation at the 2010, 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups, as well as UEFA Euro 2016.
His qualities and intelligence on the pitch can’t be doubted. Shaqiri primarily plays as a right winger and FIFA’s official website describes him as “unpredictable on the ball, adept with both feet, clinical in front of goal and possessing excellent vision.” He was described in The Daily Telegraph as “stocky and powerful” with a “wand of a left foot”. He is nicknamed “the Alpine Messi” and “the magic dwarf”.
In 2014 while playing for Bayern Munich, Shaqiri was reported to be the most decorated Swiss footballer of all time, with 13 medals to his name. But in his two seasons at Anfield, he has played 30 games, scoring 7 goals and laying 3 assists so far.
According to Football Insider, the Reds were originally hoping to recoup around £28 million for the Switzerland international but concede that is now unlikely, with clubs across Europe suffering a sharp drop in revenue because of the game enforced shutdown.
Liverpool are now believed to be ready to cut Xherdan Shaqiri’s asking price by half because of the impact the Coronavirus pandemic is having on the transfer market.
At 28-year-old, which obviously indicates the prime of football players, Shaqiri would be considering a move away from Anfield to enhance his chance of getting a regular playing time which he has unluckily been deprived off by Liverpool’s deadly trio.
Sevilla, CSKA Moscow and AS Roma are said to be ready to take advantage of the financial situation and have already registered an interest in Shaqiri’s services and a summer move away from Liverpool now looks more certain than ever.
