Xherdan Shaqiri was Switzerland’s standout player in their defeat to England but will he make his first Premier League start for Liverpool this weekend?
Liverpool fans haven’t seen much of Xherdan Shaqiri since his £13 million move from Stoke City.
The former Bayern Munich and Inter Milan winger has played just 27 minutes of football in Liverpool’s first four Premier League games. But his impressive displays during the international break suggest that he could be a very useful option for Jurgen Klopp with a hectic fixture schedule looming large.
Shaqiri was outstanding in the 6-0 thrashing of Iceland on Saturday, scoring with a power-packed, albeit deflected, free-kick and creating countless chances for his Switzerland teammates with his intelligent runs and clever balls into the box.
And the 26-year-old was arguably Switzerland’s biggest threat again as they travelled to the King Power Stadium on Thursday. England edged a 1-0 win thanks to Marcus Rashford’s second goal of the international break but Shaqiri caused the home defence plenty of problems, striking the post and forcing John Stones into a crucial block.
The former Potters talisman has not been given much chance to show the Anfield crowd what he can do so far but his arrival gives Klopp quality in reserve that he simply didn’t have last season.
And Shaqiri’s stellar form for his country could give the Liverpool boss a headache ahead of this weekend’s mega clash with Tottenham.
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