Liverpool signed their third new player of the transfer window on Friday night.
Xherdan Shaqiri has joined from Stoke City after Liverpool triggered his buy-out clause worth £13.75m. It’s a bargain price for an experienced, talented player about to enter the peak years of his career.
Shaqiri scored eight goals and registered seven assists for Stoke last season. The Swiss winger was Stoke’s best player as they were relegated to the Championship and proved he was too good to be playing for a team fighting the drop. Shaqiri has previously played for FC Basel, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan. The 26-year-old, who signed a five-year deal, will be an interesting option for Jurgen Klopp next season.
Your new number 2️⃣3️⃣
➡️ https://t.co/pNLQSGndOs#XS23 pic.twitter.com/MQOSegejnq
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 13, 2018
Fabinho and Naby Keita have already joined the club this summer, and it appears Klopp isn’t finished in the transfer market just yet.
According to The Telegraph, the Liverpool manager wants to add two more players to the squad before the transfer window closes. Klopp wants to sign a new goalkeeper and a new attacking midfielder before the Premier League season begins on August 1o.
That could mean reigniting their pursuit of Nabil Fekir. The Lyon midfielder looked set to join Liverpool before the World Cup, but the move was scuppered over issues relating to his medical. Fekir is currently with the France squad preparing for Sunday’s World Cup final against Croatia. Liverpool have needed a top-class goalkeeper for quite some time. Klopp dropped Simon Mignolet for Loris Karius last season, and Karius keeps dropping costly clangers.
Loris Karius is struggling in a big way https://t.co/EBG8GvT41b
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) July 11, 2018
According to Sky Sports, the club have ended their pursuit of Alisson Becker from Roma. The Italian club reportedly want £80m for the Brazilian goalkeeper, and Liverpool dropped their interest because of Roma’s valuation of the player.
Liverpool broke the world transfer record for a defender when they signed Virgil van Dijk from Southampton for £75m in January. Some fans of the club might be questioning why they won’t do likewise and sign a goalkeeper for a similar fee. But there are still a few weeks to go in the window, so it’s possible Liverpool may land a new ‘keeper before the Premier League seasons gets underway.
