Liverpool lost Philippe Coutinho during the January transfer window to Barcelona. Coutinho was one of the main players in the team for the past few years and so his loss left a big dent within Jurgen Klopp’s first-team.
Klopp opted to sign Xherdan Shaqiri from relegated Stoke City during the summer transfer window in a £13.5 million deal which is a bargain by today’s standards.
The fans were largely mixed about the signing of the 27-year-old. While he has shown signs of brilliance throughout his career, he has also been inconsistent and this was what ultimately led to both Bayern Munich and Inter Milan offloading him.
Shaqiri has so far been impressive at Anfield as he has gone on to score three goals and contribute two assists from 12 Premier League games. Whenever called upon this season, Shaqiri has been creative and done what was required of him.
One player who Klopp could rather have gone after though in place of Shaqiri is James Maddison. The 22-year-old Maddison joined Leicester City from Championship outfit from Norwich City in a deal believed to be about £20 million deal.
After shining in the Championship last season, the youngster has proven that he is capable of shining in the Premier League as he has gone on to bag five goals and record two assists for the Foxes from 15 Premier League games. His performances have arguably been better than Shaqiri even though he is playing alongside lesser gifted players than the Swiss international is in Merseyside.
