Lazio looking towards Xherdan Shaqiri swoop: What should be Liverpool's stance

Bengaluru, Aug 21: Liverpool winger Xherdan Shaqiri has reportedly emerged as a potential transfer target for Serie A side Lazio after they miss out on David Silva. Lazio were keen on signing Silva following the expiry of his contract at Manchester City and were assured of landing him. However, the veteran eventually chose to head back to Spain with Real Sociedad in the last-minute deal.

Now as per reports, the Switzerland international is now on the Serie A giants’ radar who is growing frustrated on a bit-part role at Anfield.

Shaquiri's time at Anfield

Shaqiri has won two massive silverware- Champions League and Premier League with the Reds. However, the 28-year-old has struggled for regular game-time since joining them from Stoke City two summers ago. He shined coming off the bench in his first season, appearing 30 times, scoring six times and assisting five. But last season, he played a mere 263 minutes scoring just one goal in all competitions.

Injuries and intense competition in the offensive third have mostly limited his opportunities. The form of Sadio Mane, Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino has left openings in attack hard to come by, while Naby Keita, Jordan Henderson and Gini Wijnaldum made his midfield chances limited.

A good deal for all the parties involved?

Shaqiri earlier expressed his desire to stay and fight for a place in Jurgen Klopp’s side, however, amid Lazio’s interest, it remains to be seen if that continues to be his stance.

He already has a lot of accolades in his cabinet however has not seen regular gametime for the last couple of years running.

At 28, the Swiss attacker has still got a few years left in the tank to succeed at the highest level and at Lazio he may get that uninterrupted game-time and form at the same time. Henceforth, he should likely welcome the opportunity to embark on a new adventure this summer and focus on building a better reputation of him.

However, one big question still remains whether he will be made available by Liverpool. But Liverpool are likely not to stand in the player’s way this summer. And instead, they are ready to focus on using the money generated from Shaqiri’s potential sell to strengthen their attacking department even further.