Confirmed – Liverpool beat Man United to agree deal

Liverpool confirmed their third key signing of the summer by capturing Swiss international Xherdan Shaqiri from Championship club Stoke City.

As per reports, the Reds beat off competition from Manchester United (The Sun) and got the deal done for just a fee of 15 million euros (The Mail).

After completing the deal, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said:

“I think the English phrase to explain the decision to sign Xherdan is a ‘no-brainer’. When someone like him becomes available in this way you have to react if you are smart – and we have,”

Read: Balzani – Liverpool offer made & €75m could agree deal

Shaqiri directly contributed in 15 goals in the Premier League for the Potters last season but failed to save them from relegation.

The 26-year-old attacker has played for big teams like Bayern Munich and Inter Milan but has shown inconsistency over the years. However, he has always proved to be brilliant for the national side, especially in major competitions.

He scored 3 goals in 4 games at the 2014 World Cup, directly contributed in 2 goals in 4 games at the 2016 European Championships and directly contributed in 2 goals in 4 games at the 2018 World Cup.

Liverpool seriously lacked depth in their attacking department last season and they had to replace a speedy Mohamed Salah with a slow Adam Lallana when the Egyptian got injured in the CL final vs Real Madrid.

Shaqiri has definitely improved the quality and depth of Klopp’s offense as he can play anywhere in the attacking third. Moreover, the mentioned price of 15 million euros is a huge bargain for someone as talented as the former Basel man.