OPINION
There’s no doubt that playmaker Xherdan Shaqiri’s second season as a Liverpool player has gotten off to something of a slow start.
The Switzerland international has missed the last couple of games through injury, but even when he has been fit it’s simply not gone according to plan for the former Stoke City star.
It’s no surprise, then, that former Reds midfielder Danny Murphy called on the maverick 27-year-old to start making more of an impact.
“There will be more emphasis on [Divock] Origi and [Rhian] Brewster now that [Daniel] Sturridge has left and Shaqiri will also need to play and contribute more,” he told SportingBet.
Murphy is absolutely right: Shaqiri needs to deliver once he’s back to full fitness. The pressure is on and he needs to step up, like Murphy says, or else he’ll likely be given the boot next summer.
The alarming fact is that the Swiss star has only played 27 minutes of first team action this campaign [Source: Transfermarkt]. With Sturridge out of the picture, his minutes should really have increased not reduced.
As we can see from the statistics, he really hasn’t gotten going this time around. As per WhoScored.com, Shaqiri is only averaging 0.5 shots per game for Liverpool this term, while he hasn’t registered anything in terms of key passes or dribbles.
And, of course, he has failed to bag a goal or an assist. That comes from limited action, obviously, but what those stats demonstrate is that he’s not producing anything even when he does play.
It’s simply not good enough for a player of his ability. However, there’s still time for him to turn things around. We are heading into the festive season, the busiest period of the campaign. With that should come opportunities for the diminutive Swiss. He must make sure he takes them.
