Klopp relieved Xherdan Shaqiri
stayed to offer “massive impact” for
    Liverpool
         November 2, 2020
         Jack Lusby
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    With Xherdan Shaqiri turning down a move away from Liverpool in the
    summer, Jurgen Klopp has expressed his relief that he can again call
    upon a “really good player.”
    Shaqiri spent much of the last year-and-a-half on the sidelines, struggling with
    a recurring calf injury, and was then widely expected to depart in the transfer
    window.
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    In fact, the No. 23 was omitted from the Liverpool squad to take on Arsenal in
    the League Cup due to interest from a number of clubs in Germany and Italy,
    only to reject the chance to leave.
    Now he is part of Klopp’s plans again, and having played the full 90 minutes in
    the 2-0 victory over Midtjylland in the Champions League, came off the bench
    to provide a sublime assist for Diogo Jota‘s winner against West Ham on
    Saturday.
    The Swiss could be in contention for a starting place as the Reds travel to
    Atalanta on Tuesday night, and speaking ahead of that Champions
    League tie, Klopp lauded Shaqiri’s versatility and quality.
    “Shaq can play on the wing, he has everything for that, but he’s a creative
    player,” he explained.
    “He played for Switzerland in the No. 10 and they know a lot about football
    there, so they wouldn’t bring him there if they think he’s better in another
    position.
    “Shaq is a versatile offensive player, he’s played for us obviously in the No. 8,
    the wing and now No. 10 when he came on.
“That’s all the positions he can play.
“He wasn’t not involved for disciplinary reasons or whatever. He was injured,
unfortunately.
“Sometimes players have a bad run with injures, and sometimes players have
a bad run with injuries, and that’s what he had.
“It wasn’t that he was that often injured, but the calf made some problems.
“Now everything is fine, which is good for him and even better for us, because
we missed him last year in a lot of moments.
“It’s not that we wanted to keep him out of the team. He’s a good player, a
really good player, who had a massive impact on pretty much all of the games
he played.
“He was part of some of the biggest games in our common history, so we’re
just happy to have him back.”
The manager also addressed the speculation over a summer exit for Shaqiri,
and while he distanced himself from “rumours,” he anticipates them emerging
again for January.
“That’s how it always is. The transfer window is there for rumours. Sometimes
for talks, not all the time, but always for rumours!” he continued.
“And we are barely involved in these kinds of things. Whatever happened out
there, I’m not even aware of.
“But I’m now really happy that he’s here. All the rest will start again in four,
five, six weeks – I don’t exactly know when the next transfer window will open
again.
“So we will see, but nothing really to say about it. The last transfer window
feels like it was four years ago.”
It is unlikely Shaqiri will be allowed to leave mid-season, particularly as he has
proven a useful option already this term, and instead, Klopp could be planning
a bigger role for the 29-year-old in the middle of the park.
The situation shows how nothing is ever cut and dried, and with the Reds’
squad players coming to the fore in recent games, Shaqiri will be hoping for
more opportunities from now.