Swiss winger is being held hostage by Liverpool despite loan interest

Jurgen Klopp is not allowing Xherdan Shaqiri to leave Liverpool as a loanee during the January transfer window.

Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool are flying high at the moment as they enjoy a 14-point cushion at the top of the Premier League table, which is the largest gap between first and second place across Europe’s top five leagues. While Liverpool are enjoying their primacy in English football, not everyone in the squad is smiling.

Xherdan Shaqiri is struggling to get game time at Liverpool. The former Bayern Munich and Inter Milan winger has only started two games for the Reds this season and has made four other appearances as a substitute. Yes, Shaqiri was sidelined with an injury for part of this campaign, but he was often ignored by Klopp last season as well.

Last term, Shaqiri only played in 24 games, with 13 of those appearances coming off the bench. In total, Shaqiri has been on the pitch for a mere 1,231 minutes over the past two seasons, which is less than half of the 3,039 minutes he played in his final season at Stoke City. What do these statistics tell us?

Well, one of two things. Firstly, Shaqiri might not be good enough to break into the first team as a regular starter. Secondly, Klopp did not think this signing through as he now has nowhere to play Shaqiri with all the competition in midfield. Klopp has praised Shaqiri’s skills and effort time and time again, but he does not play him.

According to a new report from the Daily Mail, Shaqiri was offered an escape route this week when AS Roma requested to secure his services in a loan deal, but Liverpool rejected the move. Klopp’s firm ruling over this move makes no sense. It is almost like he is keeping Shaqiri as a stand-by option to only play if a key starter gets injured, but the two-time Champions League winner is worthy of a more significant role.

With Nicolo Zaniolo ruled out for the remainder of the season, Shaqiri would have immediately taken on the role of a playmaker in the Italian capital, but Klopp shut that move down for all the wrong reasons. The January window still has two weeks remaining, but a move away from Anfield is unlikely for Shaqiri.