Inconsistency was a big problem for Xherdan Shaqiri at Liverpool and the same issue might have followed him to France.
Liverpool sold the Switzerland international to Ligue 1 side for £9.5 million in August.
And although the 29-year-old has had some early success in his post-Reds career, last night was a reminder of how erratic the player can be.
Shaqiri has one goal and one assist in four league outings for the French outfit but it could – and maybe should – be two goals, after he had one disallowed in last night’s 1-1 draw with Saint-Etienne.
He was desperately unlucky not to add to his tally with what was a brilliant finish, chalked off due to a suspect offside decision.
The quality of the finish showed the best of the former Liverpool star; the rest of the game showed the worst of him as he struggled to assert himself on the clash.
Here’s how some non-Reds fans reacted to his display, with the mixture of responses illustrating Shaqiri’s display:
Good value
Liverpool took a £4 million hit on the former Bayern Munich and Inter Milan star, having spent £13 million on him three years ago.
With that being said, Michael Edwards still did pretty well to get close to £10 million for him.
Shaqiri was going into the final year of his contract at Anfield and there’s just no way he was ever going to be a big player under Jurgen Klopp this season.
It was either a case of sell now or certainly lose him on a Bosman next June, which only would’ve made sense if there was genuine belief that the player could still add something to Klopp’s attack.
But as mentioned, he is too unpredictable and inconsistent to be relied upon and Liverpool were right to cash in.
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