Liverpool got back to winning ways on Sunday after they beat Fulham 2-0 at home with summer signing Xherdan Shaqiri managing to get his name on the scoresheet.
The 27-year-old has impressed in the appearances he has made for the club so far since arriving from Stoke City, and one of his former coaches has been quick to praise the early impact he has made at Anfield.
The Breakdown
Thorsten Fink, who managed Shaqiri at Basel, went as far as to compare his former player to Lionel Messi in an interview with ESPN.
“Cristiano Ronaldo, he worked for what he achieved,” Fink told ESPN (via the Daily Express). “But Lionel Messi he had it. He didn’t have to work for this talent. Ronaldo must work for this — work with this body, work with everything. For me, Messi has this talent. That’s also for Shaqiri.
“He has this talent to play. If he works very professionally, he can be the best player for Liverpool.”
Last season, outside of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, Jurgen Klopp did not really have any other options for the wide positions. With that in mind, bringing in a player of Shaqiri’s quality to improve the squad depth in that area of the pitch was a shrewd move — especially considering the relatively low transfer fee Liverpool paid.
However, Fink’s comparison of the ex-Stoke man and Messi is an exaggeration to say the least, while it is also hard to imagine the former becoming Liverpool’s best player when he is likely to be in and out of the team.
All in all, £18m-rated (via Transfermarkt) Shaqiri has been a superb addition to Klopp’s squad, but it would be wrong for Fink and supporters to expect so much from him considering his role in the squad.
