Former England international Darren Bent believes that Liverpool playmaker Xherdan Shaqiri will be leaving the club at the end of the season.
The 80-cap Switzerland international has struggled for consistent football throughout his time at Anfield, but gave a reminder of what he could do in a star turn against Everton on Wednesday night.
Despite that, Sky Sports pundit Bent feels he’s on his way out: “Yeah, I’d say so because even for himself. He’s still quite young,” he told Football Insider when asked if this was Shaqiri’s final season on Merseyside. “I think he’ll want to go somewhere and play week in, week out. I think he’s earned that.
“Looking at Liverpool, he’ll do well for them on occasion but when is he going to go and get the chance to play a full season at Liverpool? He’s not going to when Mo Salah’s there, when Mane’s there. He’s been a great servant for them but I think it’s time he goes somewhere to play week in, week out.”
OPINION
Bent makes a good point, here. Shaqiri isn’t likely to ever be a regular, consistent starter for Liverpool. He’ll come in every now and then, as he did in the 5-2 win on Wednesday, and do very well, but he’s unlikely to ever be a Virgil van Dijk or Fabinho in terms of being one of the first names on the team sheet. So it all depends on whether the 28-year-old is happy to continue in his current squad role or not. Obviously being a squad player for the European champions is still a pretty decent way to earn a living, but the diminutive Swiss star may feel he wants to be playing week in, week out at this stage of his career. If he does decide that, then it will be a blow for Liverpool. His performance against the Toffees demonstrates that. As per WhoScored.com, Shaqiri had two shots – one of them being his goal – one key pass and one successful dribble on his way to a WhoScored rating of 7.63.
