If Liverpool miss out on the title this season, they must understand that the only fact that would come in the way of their title ambitions would be their squad depth or the lack of it.
With Champions League knocking on the door, the management must start thinking of new recruitments in the summer transfer window to cope up with the additional number of matches. In this situation, Bayern Munich’s Xherdan Shaqiri would be a great signing for the Reds in the next window.
The 22 year old player would be a perfect fit for Liverpool in the midfield and would increase the quality of the side substantially. He has already been linked to a move out of the German club due to lack of games and Liverpool have already monitored his situation.
The other two clubs who are in contention to sign him are Juventus and Napoli and recently in an interview Shaqiri quoted “When you hear these names, of course you have to listen to the offer, but there is nothing concrete.”
“I cannot say anything to this. I am feeling good in Munich but as a player you have to listen, if one of these top clubs is interested,” he added.
In his short spell for the German champions, Shaqiri has displayed his capability as a player. A player like him would be ideal in the Premier League and specially for a club like Liverpool, who are fast in their movements and always pass the ball well among themselves before laying the foundation for their two clinical strikers upfront.
His pace and control on the ball are impressive and he would be in tandem with the transfer policy of the FSG who always want to capture young talents and then groom them rather than go for high priced superstars.
This season, Shaqiri has scored 5 goals till now in the Bundesliga, making everyone take special note of his range of long shots. He has a commendable physical presence, which is so vital to shine in the Premier League and it would take him a lot less time to get adjusted in the English style of play than others. He can also playmake from wings, his passing accuracy stands at 85%.
He would come to Liverpool with a couple of Bundesliga medals, a trait that not many players playing for Liverpool could boast of and that would help him instill that winning mentality in the squad.
With Shaqiri in the team, Rodgers can decide to give Coutinho a break once in a while and let the Brazilian develop more from purely physical point of view. Coutinho has already given proof of his immense talent and he just needs a break once in a while to blossom in the perfect manner. The pint sized Brazilian seems exhausted at the end of the season and his form seems to drop as the season progresses. After acquiring Shaqiri, Rodgers would not be out of sorts and would be able to give rest to Coutinho when he feels.
But the Swiss player would not come cheap though, but with the additional revenue from the Champions League, the transfer fee should really not bother FSG and they should not be skeptical about spending big on this player.