Report: Liverpool step up pursuit of Xherdan Shaqiri after Fekir collapse

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Liverpool will not be signing Lyon’s Nabil Fekir, but Xherdan Shaqiri could reportedly arrive instead from Stoke City.

Nabil Fekir’s £53 million move to Liverpool has collapsed and now it seems Jurgen Klopp is set to move for a man who will cost around £40 million less.

According to the Mail, Fekir had even been allowed to choose his shirt number and conduct interviews with Liverpool’s in-house media team before his big-money, £140,000-a-week move to Anfield. The Premier League giants thought twice, however, when problems were flagged up during his medical and the deal was called off soon after.

So Liverpool supporters might feel a little underwhelmed to learn that a deal for Xherdan Shaqiri now appears to be Liverpool’s priority.

While Fekir was establishing himself as one of Europe’s most promising attackers, scoring 23 goals for Lyon last season, Shaqiri was relegated after another erratic season at Stoke.

But according to ESPN, Shaqiri’s agent and brother met with Liverpool on Friday to discuss a move to Anfield, and the Reds are now leading the chase for a player who has made clear his desire to play Champions League football after three seasons at Stoke.

The former Inter and Bayern Munich winger has a £13.5 million release clause in his contract and would give Klopp some much-needed depth, with Liverpool keen to fight on domestic and European fronts next season.

Klopp was heavily criticised in recent months for rotating his squad, but bringing in the likes of Shaqiri would give him more licence to rest Liverpool’s much vaunted ‘fab three’ of Sadio Mane, Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino.