Jurgen Klopp has hinted that Xherdan Shaqiri will not be leaving the Reds this summer, despite speculation that the Swiss international could be on the way out of Anfield.
Shaqiri chipped in with some crucial goals and assists in his debut campaign – not least against Manchester United and Barcelona – but his impact waned in the second half of the season, and he has only started one game since the end of the January.
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With some reports claiming Shaqiri could be sold in the transfer window, Klopp was keen to sing his praises in a video done for Viasport as part of their build-up to the Champions League final.
Klopp enthused, as reported in the Daily Express: “What a wonderful player, what a wonderful ambassador for his country. So I’m really happy to have him around. I know people think I didn’t play him around often enough. He thinks probably the same.
“But what an important player for us all season.”
Those comments would appear to suggest that he is very happy with Shaqiri and that an exit is unlikely – and that certainly makes sense.
The whole point of bringing the winger in from Stoke City for a relatively cut-price £13 million was to strengthen the squad depth at Klopp’s disposal. Selling him would weaken the team, no doubt.
Shaqiri is highly unlikely to start in the Champions League final on Saturday, but could be useful off the bench once again.
Having scored important goals this season despite not starting week in, week out, this could be another moment for him to decide a huge game in the Reds’ favour.