Many had already consigned Xherdan Shaqiri to the dustbin of history at Liverpool. After a summer where the Swiss international seemed set to move away, many deemed his Red’s career to be over.
If he were to remain at Liverpool, it would be as nothing more than a bench player.
But, Shaqiri has proven all of those critics wrong with his recent form; he has featured in three of the last four Liverpool games and provided the decisive assist in the Reds’ last game against West Ham.
Xherdan Shaqiri is Turning Into a Key Player at Liverpool
Great Recent Form
After only making five starts since May 2019, Xherdan Shaqiri has really taken his lastest chance for Liverpool.
It all started with a League Cup game against Lincoln City where ‘Big Shaq’, as fans sometimes refer to him, scored a wonderful free-kick. He also played great as Liverpool trounced their opponents. However, this was to be expected against a lower-tiered opposition.
His form continued as he provided an assist for Diogo Jota to open the scoring against FC Midtjylland in the Champions League. Finally, he linked up with Jota again and this time provided an assist for the Portuguese’s winning goal against West Ham.
In that game against the Hammers, Shaqiri shined. Despite only playing 20 minutes, he had a 93 percent pass accuracy.
Manager Jurgen Klopp definitely seems to be a fan of his winger’s form.
“He is a really good player and has made a massive impact in pretty much all of the games he has played. He was part of some of the biggest games in our recent history. I’m just happy to have him back,” said Klopp.
Shaqiri Can Play Anywhere
One of the reasons why Klopp seems to love Shaqiri is his versatility.
“Shaq [Xherdan Shaqiri] can play on the wings; he has everything for that. He’s a great player and has played for Switzerland as a 10. They know a lot about football there, and they wouldn’t play him there if they thought he was better in another position,” said the Liverpool manager.
Having a player like Shaqiri is a manager’s dream. The Swiss international knows that the team at Anfield won’t be built around, but he doesn’t care. Instead, he’ll play anywhere to get game time.
And the best part for Klopp is that he will produce. If Shaqiri continues in his current form, it wouldn’t be surprising for him to feature in most games. A situation that seemed unlikely at the start of the season.
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