Five players Liverpool could look to sell this summer

Bengaluru, May 10: This has been an incredibly difficult campaign for Liverpool as they have struggled to live up to the expectations set by themselves over the past couple of years. The Reds won the Premier League pretty convincingly last time out and in the season prior to that, they were crowned the champions of Europe for the sixth time in their history.

We have witnessed a remarkable fall from grace of the Reds during this campaign. At the moment, Jurgen Klopp's side has to wait for the clubs above them in the table to slip up in the final few games in order to qualify for Champions League next season.

Injuries to key players have played a big part in Liverpool's slump in form this season but that has not been the only factor with almost every Liverpool player struggling to keep up their performance levels.

In order to come back in the title race, Klopp must inject some fresh legs in the summer and in order to make room for that, the German gaffer has to ship off some of the deadwood the club have right now.

In this article, we will take a look at five players Liverpool should look to offload this summer. Midfield dynamo and key player Georginio Wijnaldum is not in this list but he is likely to depart anyway with his contract up for expiry.

Joel Matip

Joel Matip is undoubtedly a top-class centre-back and it is pretty evident that Klopp admires him a lot but the injury history of the Cameroon international suggests that it is high time that Klopp takes his decision on the former Schalke star.

The 29-year-old has played just 866 minutes of football this season and with both Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez missing almost the entire campaign, Klopp's job has been really difficult this campaign. With Liverpool reportedly closing in on the signing of Ibrahima Konate and also looking to make the loan deal of Ozan Kabak permanent, it suggests that Matip could be on his way out of Anfield.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been terribly unlucky with injuries throughout his career but the same cannot be said about him this season. The former Arsenal midfielder has been relatively injury-free this season by his standards and despite that, Klopp has simply decided to overlook him on most occasion despite his team struggling for both fitness and form. It speaks volumes about the lack of progress of the 27-year-old and he could well be on his way out of Anfield this summer and should spark plenty of interest owing to his age, experience and the fact that he is home-grown.

Naby Keïta

Expectations were big from Naby Keita when he was signed on a massive fee from RB Leipzig and was handed the iconic number eight jersey of Steven Gerrard. However, the Guinean midfield dynamo has not managed to make much of an impression at Anfield despite spending three seasons at the club. The 26-year-old has been unfortunate with injuries but Klopp always kept his belief in the talented midfield entertainer but the German manager also seems to be losing his patience in him.

Xherdan Shaqiri

Xherdan Shaqiri was signed by Liverpool in the summer of 2018 on a massive coup when Stoke City were relegated and initially, the Swiss international made a solid impact. Despite being a squad player, the former Bayern Munich winger made quite an impression whenever Klopp turned to him and even made him change his tactics in a handful of games to accommodate him in the starting XI alongside Mane, Salah and Firmino. However, the impact of the 29-year-old has been on the wane since then. The creative winger was almost sold by the Reds last summer and it would be a surprise if he remains a Liverpool player beyond this summer.

Divock Origi

A man for the big occasion, Divock Origi managed to achieve cult status for his heroics during the 2018-19 season during which Liverpool won the Champions League for the sixth time in their history. He will forever be remembered as a Liverpool hero but as a player, the 26-year-old has seen his stock fall drastically over the past couple of years. He has played almost 2000 minutes of football in the last two seasons combined and has only managed to score seven goals which is a very poor return. Just 26 years of age, it is high time that he leaves Liverpool and move to a club where he gets much needed playing time and fulfil his potential and Liverpool should also not mind selling him.