It's selling time at Bayern Munich, and Xherdan Shaqiri is on the auction block. A bevy of teams from around Europe are interested, but the team at the front of the line might just be Liverpool. The struggling English club needs another attacker, and the Swiss international winger makes a lot of sense for them, not least because they've been trying to get him for years.
Liverpool looking to bolster attack with Bundesliga signing
Out-of-favor Bayern Munich winger Xherdan Shaqiri could find himself a new home at Anfield if Liverpool have their way.
Liverpool are supposedly offering £10 million for Shaqiri, which is a figure much lower than the rumored £20 million Bayern have demanded in the past. With just one more season left on his contract, though, the German giants are reported to have come down significantly on their demands. Even with Inter Milan believed to be trying to get Shaqiri on loan and Juventus sniffing around, could this finally be the window that Liverpool land Shaqiri?
Why it makes sense
Liverpool really, really need more attacking quality, and they need it soon. Their horrible run of luck up front has forced them to use Raheem Sterling at striker, and while he's done well there, it's left a gaping hole in attacking midfield. Philippe Coutinho has been wildly inconsistent this season, Adam Lallana has been hurt too often (he's out for the next month), and Lazar Markovic simply hasn't been good enough in all but a couple of the matches he's played.
Enter Shaqiri, who has the versatility to play an attacking role in any of the 500 or so formations Brendan Rodgers has employed this season, as well as the quality to force his way into the lineup given his competition. He's also long been considered one of the brighter attacking prospects around, though at 23 his time to realize that potential may be running out. Liverpool would be a good place to try to realize that potential, given that Rodgers has often given younger players a chance and generally gotten very good results with them.
Why it doesn’t make sense
Despite all the acclaim and attention he gets, Shaqiri still isn’t anywhere near a finished product. His lack of playing time at Bayern has seriously slowed his development, and he’s far behind where people thought he would be by this point when he signed there two and a half years ago. Liverpool need an attacker who has more polish and consistency to the results he’ll put up, and Shaqiri might not be that player right now.
Also, would Shaqiri even want to go to Liverpool? They’ve been interested in him for years, dating back to his time at Basel in Switzerland, but he’s never shown a whiff of interest in moving to the English club. As the saying goes, it takes two to tango, and it’s far from certain that Shaqiri wants to get on the dance floor with Liverpool.
Likelihood it happens
To be honest, it’s hard to get a read on this one. Liverpool have been interested in Shaqiri for a long time, yes, but that adds a lot of recycled rumor potential to the equation. Still, it makes a lot of sense at this stage for Liverpool to make the move, with their need for better attacking depth and quality both for the rest of the season and moving forward.
Liverpool's reported £10 million valuation is a little short of what Bayen supposedly want for Shaqiri, but not so far that the two sides can't come to an agreement. There's going to be plenty of competition for his signature, though, even if Inter pull out of the race. Liverpool needs him, Bayern don't want him, and the price is right, so we're giving this one a 6 out of 10.
