Not giving up just yet.
That appeared to be the message that Xherdan Shaqiri wanted to send out when talking about his future at Anfield. Despite claims that he was set to leave the club this past window, the international transfer deadline day came and went, only for him to still be at the club, with James Pearce of The Athletic claims it was because there were ‘no suitable offers’ for him.
However, speaking to The Swiss FA (via Thuner Tagblatt) the Swiss international claims that wasn’t the case at all, rather that he wanted to stay at the club:
“The media write a lot, but in the end I’m with Liverpool. I have a long-term contract and I really feel good. I have decided to stay with Liverpool.”
If that is his attitude, then I can only applaud him for trying to stay and make a case to stay, but I think he’s going to be fighting a losing battle.
Has Shaqiri been a worthwhile investment for Liverpool?
Yes
No
I spoke earlier today when discussing the overall transfer window so far that this was all about adding squad depth, and when it comes to Shaqiri he’s pretty much balancing on the edge when it comes to being part of that squad, having seen his number of appearances decline over the past few seasons.
With the signing of Diogo Jota likely to make more appearances harder to come by, he might be forced to sit on the bench or out of the squad altogether for large parts of the season, and the best he can hope for really is for other players to drop off in terms of form or fitness.
And whilst that might happen occasionally this season, as Sadio Mane has proven, I just don’t see there being enough for him to get consistent game time. Perhaps this is something that may need to be revisited again with the January window.
What about you? What do you make of Shaqiri’s comments?