Xherdan Shaqiri has given Liverpool fans fresh hope that he will sign for the Reds after admitting he’d like to stay in the Premier League.
Shaqiri has displayed some fine form for Switzerland during the FIFA World Cup in Russia this summer and his performances have alerted willing suitors keen to recruit the diminutive frontman’s services. Shaqiri is set to leave relegated Stoke City after they dropped down into the Championship from the top flight at the conclusion of last season.
Reds chiefs Jurgen Klopp is said to be keen to recruit the attacker to bolster his strike force and now that the Swiss have departed the tournament after a defeat against Sweden, Shaqiri has been speaking about his future and the possibilities of staying in the Premier League.
He said:
“At the moment, I can’t say anything. You are going to hear soon on my future. I was not thinking about this because I was just focused on my national team and wanted to make a good tournament for my team and my nation. It’s pretty normal to be aware of clubs being interested.
“I don’t know, it’s not dependant on me sometimes. Of course, I would like to play on the biggest stage in football. Everybody knows that. I hope I can stay in the Premier League. I hope so, you never know with football. I don’t rule out anything.”
Meanwhile, another new face who was set to join the Reds until a deal collapsed is Nabil Fekir. Now, though, it seems that the deal may, just may, be back on.
Reports emanating from the Daily Mail suggest that contact between the two clubs is back on regards a move and the development comes as Manchester United look to take an interest in acquiring the Lyon player.
Jose Mourinho is said to be keen on the left-footed attacking midfielder, who is aged 24, and this has prompted fresh interested from the Anfield giants who so very nearly got their man before the plug was pulled on a free transfer.
in light of the Fakir deal hitting a snag the first time of asking, the Merseysiders were said to have switched their attention to trying to persuade Marco Asensio to join them from Real Madrid.
Meanwhile, Klopp has to decide if he keeps faith in Loris Karius after his poor show in the Champions League final loss to Real Madrid. The Reds manager has eyed moves for Jan Oblak and Alisson Becker, said to be two of the best keepers around. But money could be a stumbling block as far as any transfer is concerned.
Slovenian custodian Oblak, who plays for Spanish club Atlético Madrid, has a release clause of around £88million for Liverpool to get their heads round. Similarly, Roma don’t want to let their No.1 stopper leave the club. And if they did agree for the Brazil keeper to leave they would expect a fee in the region of £75million.