Liverpool supporters will not be happy when they read that the club are willing to part with Xherdan Shaqiri for a fee of less than €10m (£8.5m) this summer, according to Florian Plettenberg.
Plettenberg, a reporter for German publication SPORT1, reiterates that the attacking midfielder has ‘permission to leave’ the Reds as Shaqiri looks for more regular first-team football.
Jurgen Klopp’s side welcomed Shaqiri in the summer of 2018 after triggering the £13m release clause in his contract with Stoke, per BBC Sport, but he’s endured a difficult time on Merseyside.
This update comes as Shaqiri has already expressed that Liverpool will not stand in his way as he searches for a new club, with the ace explicitly welcoming a move to Lazio.
Plettenberg adds that the 29-year-old can also ‘imagine’ a return to the Bundesliga, Shaqiri spent three years with German powerhouses Bayern Munich after his breakthrough at Basel.
Transfer Update #Shaqiri: He has got the permission to leave #LFC. The price tag: below €10m! He can also imagine a return to the Bundesliga. But no concrete talks so far. @SPORT1
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) July 27, 2021
Shaqiri has only made 63 appearances in his three years with Liverpool, with the Swiss star having been troubled by constant injury troubles and also being stuck behind world-class attackers and midfielders.
That didn’t stop the playmaker from impressing at the Euros this summer though, with Shaqiri scoring three times and laying on an assist as Switzerland made it to the quarter-final stages.
With Shaqiri’s brilliant performances at Euro 2020 in mind, it’s surprising to see that the Liverpool hierarchy are not looking to command a bigger fee for the attacker.
Perhaps the Anfield outfit’s relatively low price tag is due to the fact that Shaqiri is in the final two years of his contract, his injury troubles and the bit-part role he’s played since joining the Reds.
Shaqiri only started seven of his 22 appearances for Liverpool last season, scoring once and providing four assists.
It doesn’t look like the gifted playmaker will ever become a key player for the Reds, as he hardly featured (barring two cameos) as the Reds rescued their season with brilliant form in the top-flight’s run-in.