OPINION
Liverpool midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri is facing a long journey back into Jurgen Klopp’s first team plans after his fall from grace was reinforced by his latest snub on Friday.
The 27-year-old made the bench for the clash against Southampton, but Klopp obviously deemed him as a risk not worth taking by not even considering him to come on as a substitute.
The Reds were at a crisis point until the 80 minute mark, but even then the manager still overlooked his ability to make a meaningful impact. He has proved numerous times this season that he can come off the bench and make a real difference, but Klopp instead opted to bring on the likes of Jordan Henderson and James Milner.
This must have been a major blow to the Swiss international. There is no guaranteeing that he would have been the game changing substitute, but being over looked once again is no doubt a stab in the back.
Shaqiri’s versatility to play pretty much anywhere in the attacking line seems to have gone out of the window in Klopp’s eyes, and the possibility of him playing for the remainder of the season run-in looks very bleak indeed. Especially when there is a Premier League title at stake.
His recent snub in the 3-1 win over the Saints basically confirms his status as being towards the bottom of the pecking order for his position. Granted, Klopp has a lot of midfielders at his disposal – but just where does this recent cold shoulder leave Shaqiri.
He needs to know where he stands with the manager, and whether he is going to play any role in the games that remain.
It is hard to imagine him usurping the likes of Fabinho, Milner, Henderson or even Naby Keita anytime soon. His Southampton snub has pretty much reinforced his role at the club, and to be honest, it will be rather hard to claw his way back at this stage.
