EPL
Meet this star who move from being Fekir’s replacement to Anfield legend
Liverpool fans were furious with Jurgen Klopp when he surprisingly pulled out of Nabil Fekir’s deal during last season’s winter market.
The former Borussia Dortmund manager gave his reason for pulling out of the deal as he claimed the Frenchman is an injury-prone player who won’t be able to cope with the stressful nature of the Premier League.
Despite Klopp’s cogent reason, the Merseyside faithfuls didn’t forgive their manager so easily because they couldn’t believe he is capable of turning down the chance to capture the Lyon’s midfield enforcer.
Having seen how wonderful the Frenchman performed for his country during the summer world cup in Russia, many Liverpool fans thought the former Borussia Dortmund manager will reignite his interest in the player.
However, Klopp wasn’t convinced by Fekir’s display for the Les Blues in Russia, so he never makes any move for the Frenchman’s signature.
Instead, he turned his attention to Stoke city’s midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri who couldn’t save his team from dropping down to the country’s second-tier League known as the Championship.
Having relegated with stoke city at the end of last season, it was expected that his market value will reduce massively and that was the case as the Swiss only cost £13.5m during the summer market.
Shaqiri wasn’t only cheap, he was also the most lowly-rated star among all the players who joined the club prior to the start of this campaign.
FROM GRASS TO GRACE
Jurgen Klopp didn’t give the 28-year-old midfielder his debut appearance at the start of the League. The German understandably gave Naby Keita and Fabinho, both of whom were more expensive Shaqiri, the chance to justify their huge price tag.
After four League matches, Klopp eventually called on the former Stoke City player for his debut.
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His debut went well and Klopp was satisfied with the Swiss performance.
That was how Shaqiri’s Liverpool career began to progress and his rise to fame at Anfield is never a coincidence but a product of hard-work
His addition to the team has brought more threat to the attacking set up. He has equally given Klopp the opportunity to change tactics when necessary.
Klopp is known for his 4-3-3 formation in recent seasons but Shaqiri’s wonderful form has forced the German into using 4-3-2-1 formation so as to integrate the Swiss international into the starting XI.
It was thought that the former stoke city star won’t get many minutes on the pitch due to the deadly partnership existing between the trio of Sadio Mane, Firmino and Naby Keita.
Nonetheless, Shaqiri has stood his ground against the three fearsome strikers and he’s made the attacking frontline look more deadly and more effective.
