Liverpool are unlikely to sign a direct replacement for Xherdan Shaqiri once he joins Lyon with Harvey Elliott establishing himself and Kaide Gordon impressing, according to Goal.
Jurgen Klopp’s Anfield natives have agreed to sell Shaqiri to Lyon after accepting a £9.5m bid over the weekend. The Swiss forward will undergo a medical on Monday before moving to the Groupama Stadium, where Peter Bosz’s side sit 16th in Ligue 1 after three games.
Shaqiri has already settled on personal terms with Les Gones and should sign a four-year contract in France’s Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region. The 29-year-old has just 10-months left on his £80,000-per-week deal on Merseyside, signed after joining from Stoke City in 2018.
Liverpool have allowed Shaqiri to join Lyon after Les Gones more than doubled their initial offer, only worth around £4m. Anfield sources described the bid as ‘ridiculous’ to Goal. But Bosz and Sporting Director Juninho progressed with talks as the winger is their top target.
Klopp is unlikely to sign a direct replacement for Lyon-bound Shaqiri with Elliott building an established first-team role at Liverpool. The 18-year-old featured from the bench against Norwich on the opening day, before starting at home to Burnley on Saturday.
Liverpool also intend to closely watch Gordon’s development as the 16-year-old’s progress has already excited club staff. The former Derby prospect moved to Merseyside in February for an initial £1m that could rise to £3m through add-ons.
Gordon become Derby’s fourth-youngest player ever last December after making his senior debut as a late substitute against Birmingham City. He would feature in three further first-team squads before joining Liverpool, where the England U17 international scored on his U23s debut against Leicester City on the final day of the Premier League 2 season in May.
Gordon set for big future once Shaqiri leaves Liverpool for Lyon?
Gordon has shown plenty of promise since joining Liverpool’s academy from Derby, and may hope for first-team opportunities in training and cup competitions with Shaqiri likely joining Lyon and Elliott taking over his place in Klopp’s squad this season.
Along with scoring on his U23s bow, Gordon struck home six in eight U18 Premier League outings, while assisting three. He could now feature for the Reds’ U23s again when they begin the new PL2 season at home to Everton on Monday.
Impressing under Barry Lewtas could go a long way to Gordon cementing his place under Klopp after Shaqiri leaves Liverpool. The youngster has already trained with the first-team and featured against Osasuna in a pre-season friendly earlier this month. While Wayne Rooney was full of praise for the winger while honing his trade in the Pride Park ranks.
“Kaide is a fantastic player,” Rooney said, via Goal. The former Everton and Manchester United striker also told RamsTV after Gordon’s debut: “He’s been training at the same level – if not to a better level – to a lot of the other [first-team] players.”
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