After two years at Liverpool, super-sub Xherdan Shaqiri is being linked with Leicester City and other teams ahead of next season.
As with most rumours, Leicester City seem to be in the hat for the Switzerland international, along with Newcastle United as well as other sides, but what role would he play at the King Power Stadium, if one at all?
Shaqiri’s recent seasons have been limited to bit part performances, often coming off the bench for one of Liverpool’s explosive wingers, Sadio Mane or Mohamed Salah. Since his arrival in 2018, Shaqiri has made 38 appearances for Liverpool in all competitions – starting just 17.
During his time at Stoke City, the Kosovo-born midfielder was the main man – which was expected given the repertoire of clubs he’d represented prior to playing at the Bet365 Stadium (Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, and FC Basel). Only Joe Allen matched Shaqiri for starts, with both playing 36 out of a possible 38.
However, Anfield hasn’t be an easy place for Shaqiri to practice his craft – the frontline at Liverpool is merely impenetrable, which isn’t a fault of the 5’6” wizard, it’s more a compliment towards the wingers at Jurgen Klopp’s disposal. As such, his impact is predominantly off the bench – which to his credit has been efficient.
During the 2018-2019 Premier League campaign, only Divock Origi and Mohamed Salah provided a better goal contribution per 90 minutes for the Reds than Shaqiri. The Swiss international provided an average of 0.76 goals and assists per 90 minutes – as he ended the season on 6 goals and 3 assists in just 1,064 minutes of football.
Unfortunately for Shaqiri, these numbers didn’t propel him into the starting XI, in fact, during the 2019-2020 Premier League season his average minutes have even plummeted. The Reds have seen just 223 minutes of action from the former Stoke City man, an average of 30 minutes per game, in comparison to the 44 minutes in the previous season.
Brendan Rodgers would be looking at Xherdan Shaqiri initially as a bench player, which is the unfortunate by-product of performing off the bench – players like Javier Hernandez and Olivier Giroud have been met with this curse throughout their playing careers, but with the intention of transitioning him into a potential starter.
One of Shaqiri’s best attributes is his flexibility in playing positions. Arguably, his best position is right wing or in Brendan Rodgers’ 4-1-4-1, right midfield. But, throughout his playing career, Shaqiri has played as a left midfielder and as a number 10/second striker. It’s this exact reason that makes him such a threat off the bench, he can excel in a wide array of positions and only take up one spot on the bench.
His small stature, only standing at 5’6” gives him an incredible centre of gravity. He’s agile and very content to use only his left foot, which could be seen as a negative, however, similar to the likes of Mohamed Salah and Lionel Messi, Shaqiri is very adept at shifting the defenders to allow space on devastating left foot.
Although Shaqiri is seen as more of a winger than a wide midfielder, he prefers to pick the ball up in the middle third of the pitch, instead of the final third – natural starting position of a winger. Out of his 1,072 touches for Liverpool, 50.3% (539) of them have come in the middle of the park, he’s not just an end product, he wants to instigate play himself.
Another faucet of a Brendan Rodgers winger is having a commitment to the defensive duties of a wide player, such as tracking the oppositions fullback out of possession. Shaqiri doesn’t flourish in these statistics, however, he’s a good player in the press – although most of Liverpool’s team are impressive in the press.
Shaqiri has managed only 10 tackles over the last two seasons playing for Liverpool, in contrast, Ayoze Pérez has made 42 tackles this season, Harvey Barnes has made 20 and Marc Albrighton has made 12, in just 486 minutes of playing time this season.
Potentially, by subsidising the level of defensive responsibility with Shaqiri, Leicester City could find a wide player who boasts similar attributes to former starlet, Riyad Mahrez. Both prefer playing on the right whilst being heavily left-footed, and both enjoy great success at cutting teams open once attacking the inside half-space.
As with most transfer rumours that are being discussed during the uncertainty of the coronavirus lockdown, the focal factoring point is how much he would cost Leicester City. Two seasons ago, the Swiss international moved to Anfield for £13.23m, and with all the considerations listed above, still offers a good option for Klopp off the bench.
He would most likely cost in the region of £20m, which given the current situation of the Foxes, isn’t too expensive. For that, you get a player with two Champions League medals, a player who scored a hat-trick in a World Cup, albeit versus Honduras, plenty of Premier League experience, all whilst only being 28 years old.
There’s definitely a case for this deal being a good one for Leicester City. I believe competition in wide midfield should optimise the performances of the players currently solidifying those positions, making the side increasingly competitive.