Liverpool signed the winger for around £13 million this summer.
Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp sat down for an exclusive interview with German media outlet Sport 1, and offered high words of praise for summer signing Xherdan Shaqiri, highlighting how the Swiss star’s cheap fee led to questions being asked of the player’s quality.
Klopp spent heavily this summer, bringing in four new signings for around £180 million, and many fans and pundits alike are backing the Reds to push reigning champions Manchester City all the way this season in the race for the Premier League title.
One area where the German absolutely had to improve this summer was the strength in depth of his attacking department, with more competition required for his famous front three.
And Shaqiri might end up being just the man for the job.
Klopp spoke exclusively to Sport 1, and highlighted how many people were doubting the Swiss star’s quality when he moved from Stoke to Liverpool:
“I don’t think German football culture would tolerate transfers of 150 million Euros. They love nothing more than a free transfer. The view in England is different. If a player costs nothing there is a suspicion he must be useless. For example, there was a lot of questioning (in England) around our interest in Xherdan Shaqiri. We paid £13million for him after he got relegated with Stoke. But he’s a fantastic player and now everyone at the club loves him. In comparison to Germany, it’s really different.”
Shaqiri hasn’t really been given much of a chance to prove his worth so far this season, but when he is given his opportunity, he will be desperate to show the world how good he really is.
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