Liverpool could sell Xherdan Shaqiri to make room for Harvey Elliott, according to reports. But only if a team matches the asking price.
The Mirror claims that Jurgen Klopp would sell Shaqiri in the transfer window. The winger would cost around £25m, however, and would only leave if a team matches that price.
There wouldn’t be an incoming replacement, though. The entire point of the sale would instead to clear the pathway for young players – Elliott, in particular.
The teenager has played exclusively on the right-wing for Liverpool’s first-team. He’s looked exciting in his handful of games, too, even if he lacks a little end product.
But that will come with time and it appears that Klopp is ready to give Elliott more of it. Selling Shaqiri would be a big statement of belief in the Englishman.
What RTK has to say
Shaqiri’s lack of playing time this season makes the move very low-risk. He simply hasn’t had any real impact on the season, save for his performance against Everton.
Elliott could certainly take up similar minutes to Shaqiri with minimum fuss. He wouldn’t put in quite the same level of performance as Shaqiri right away, of course, but this is a long-term move.
Any experience would develop Elliott faster and better. We said back in January that we’d like to see this and it’s great to hear it may happen.
Things may be different if Shaqiri has played a key role this season. He simply hasn’t played enough, though, and given the choice, it makes more sense for a young talent to get those limited minutes.
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