Liverpool forward Xherdan Shaqiri has rejected a move to the Bundesliga, but does he still have a future at Anfield?
The subject of Shaqiri staying at the club always tends to pop up around this time of the year. The Swiss international is a talented footballer, which means there’ll always be sides interested in taking the former Inter and Bayern Munich man off the Reds’ hands.
But he provides such an excellent squad option, when fit, and Jurgen Klopp has started to use the Powercube more regularly as he returns to fitness.
Fussball Transfers have reported that Hertha Berlin, who are awash with new money and don’t know what to do with it, are keen on taking Shaqiri to the Bundesliga.
However, this deal appears to be dead in the water as the 29-year-old has no wish to become embroiled in another relegation spat. He’s already suffered the drop once, with Stoke City, and doesn’t seem keen to leave Liverpool for a side who are two points off the relegation zone.
He might not be the man to scrap Hertha away from the bottom three either. Some of his former Stoke colleagues criticised Shaqiri for the way he played during their doomed Premier League campaign.
"Glenn Johnson, who was the right-back in that team, was reported by Sqwuaka as saying: “He weren’t one of the lads holding the ship down.“When things were going well, he’d be a big player for us and he’d perform. When things weren’t going well, then he’d be hit and miss.More from Rush The KopSet to return, Virgil Van Dijk facing heavy criticism back homeLiverpool making late comebacks all the rage once againWolves tilt gives Klopp opportunity to tinker with lineup following international dutyPlayers to watch in the matchup with WolvesPredicting Liverpool’s Next Five Premier League Fixtures“But that was obvious to see, everyone could see that in the games and performances.”"
Selling Shaq to raise money to buy a centre-back in this window might be a decent idea, although FSG’s reluctance to sanction a deal could be down to the lack of targets available in the winter window.
Liverpool could still sell Xherdan Shaqiri
Shaqiri has suffered horribly with injuries over the past two seasons, but he’s made 11 appearances this campaign and featured in the last four Premier League games.
It’s understandable that he’d be reluctant to leave Liverpool when he’s getting an opportunity to play, and he’ll continue to do so; especially as Klopp is forced to play two midfielders as centre-backs.
Other Liverpool transfer news
In more Liverpool transfer news, Ben Bocsak has taken a look at five centre-backs Liverpool could buy on the cheap. Meanwhile, the Reds could be about to gazump Manchester United for the latest prodigy to come off the Derby production line.