Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke City)

good option from bench and cheap...low risk really.

I get that mentality. It's a popular one. What I don't get is likely missing out on someone world class like, say, Hazard, because we choose not to match an extra 20 mil in fee and 70k in salary that Madid would be prepared to throw at him, only to then sacrifice such sums on a sub par rotational player like Shaqiri.

Hazard would never come to us in first place. You need Shaqiri type of players.

good option from bench and cheap...low risk really.

Bet people said the same about Karius? Balotelli?

Hazard would never come to us in first place.

Wrong attitude that. If we went big and showed intent why Not?

. You need Shaqiri type of players.

For What? To continue to underwhelm and not win?
I'd rather we gave those minutes to Wilson 

No Karius/Balotelli were bought to be in our best team...
Shaqiri was not bought for x11. I would be mad if we bought him, to replace Mane or Salah.

Its better to have Shaqiri option on bench than Moreno only attacking option like last year.

Our kids are great, but would be beter loan time again. Still to young and immature.

Hazard would never come to us in first place. You need Shaqiri type of players.

Hazard probably wouldn't go to another London club like Tottenham or Arsenal, sure. But the guy wants to win. He wants to show he's up there with the best. Being an attacking player in a Klopp or Guardiola team would give him a great chance to do both. And we'd only have to give him a salary a little higher than we'd given Coutinho. It's possible. But until we win something big again, and/or continue not to chase worthy stars, we look like a club with a bridesmaid mentality.

good option from bench and cheap...low risk really.

this seems to have been the mentality for years, and it largely has not paid off.

Fantastic business for a solid squad player a bargain at £12 million.

Like Ox last season I believe Shaqiri will surprise the naysayers once Klopp brings the best out of him.

No Karius/Balotelli were bought to be in our best team...
Shaqiri was not bought for x11. I would be mad if we bought him, to replace Mane or Salah.

Its better to have Shaqiri option on bench than Moreno only attacking option like last year.

Our kids are great, but would be beter loan time again. Still to young and immature.

Talking about it being low risk

It's far from low risk and a mistake waiting to happen

this seems to have been the mentality for years, and it largely has not paid off.

We're also looking at Krychowiak apparently. Nothing says challenging for the title quite like signing two players who've just been relegated.

We're also looking at Krychowiak apparently. Nothing says challenging for the title quite like signing two players who've just been relegated.

It's nothing to do with them being relegated for me (Think Andy Robbo)

Its a potential attitude issue for me

We're also looking at Krychowiak apparently. Nothing says challenging for the title quite like signing two players who've just been relegated.

Like signing Andy Robertson last season?

It's nothing to do with them being relegated for me (Think Andy Robbo)

Its a potential attitude issue for me

Oh for sure. But, man, Hull were a decimated squad from the start of that season. They showed heart on many an occasion. West Brom and Stoke were arguably mid table squads that only showed a glimpse of fight when it was too late.

But I get your point. Admittedly, Shaqiri has shown fight. But we're really only a starting GK, a #10, maybe a starting CB, a rotational winger or two short (for our whole squad).

I don't like the idea of us chasing these kinds of players to fill those few spots. Ordinary rather than extraordinary talent taking game time away from our own youngsters, or bringing in slightly higher rated youngsters with exceptional traits we can groom in our system.

I genuinely feel that's a big difference between us and the other big clubs.

People say he's lazy and doesn't track back, maybe he's no Bobby or Manè. But in those games where that's needed these guys will start, when teams are sitting back trying to absorb pressure he could be useful for helping to snatch 3 points from 1

True, but I still hate that phrase.

If I don't agree with something Jürgen says or does then I'll say so and give my opinion, isn't that why we're all here?

So instead of people being sheep and saying 'if Jürgen wants him then I want him' why not just comment on whether you rate the player, if you want us to sign him or not and give your reasons why. That's much more interesting to me than reading some super fan bollocks.

Fair enough mate, makes sense.

I would be questioning it too if it were someone different, but I think Shaqiri has some real talent in his locker so I'd be happy to see him come in without dinting our budget much.

There's a 13.5m buyout for him, son that would be the maximum we pay.

From what james Pearce wrote, it looks like stoke want to take a player on loan for the season as part of the deal which could bring the price down

Could work out to be a good deal here

We know his potential, though. He isn’t a Robbo who’s young and realatively unproven. Shaqiri has been around for a while, played at big clubs and in big leagues and largely underwhelmed.

He doesn’t even suit us. He cuts in and tries to cross the ball when we need a direct ball runner with an eye for a pass. TAA already offers us the delivery that Shaqiri produces on his day.

So much familiarity with the Balotelli signing here. Gut says it ends the same way.

I think he is one of those players who definitely has something but its hard to say exactly what. Maybe Jürgen sees something we don't and feels he can help direct his talent to make him a much better team player. In todays market its probably worth the risk

I think that the way this transfer is viewed will depend on what further business is done between now and the end of the transfer window. If it's followed up with a Goal-Keeper, another forward (who can also play as a 9) and a replacement for Coutinho (i'd also like another left-back) then it's not a bad piece of business, particularly if it enables a bigger chunk of change to be released for the other players we need. If those players don't come in it will not look so.

As for the player, he will have a lot to prove. Definitely talented but rightfully questions being asked about his workrate off the ball and whether he has the commitment & attitude to achieve at a Top club after his previous failures at Inter and Munich (I think it was those two?)

There's a 13.5m buyout for him, son that would be the maximum we pay.

From what james Pearce wrote, it looks like stoke want to take a player on loan for the season as part of the deal which could bring the price down

Could work out to be a good deal here

Yeah it could be Ojo going on loan the other way. But unless Shaqiri is to be used as a cut price #10, many of us would just rather the Wilsons, Ojos, Woodburns etc got those rotational opportunities than Shaqiri.

I don't think it would be quite the doom and gloom of a Charlie Adam style signing as some people suggest, but there are actually a number of younger prospects out there with exceptional traits that could be brought in for a similar fee who'd more likely fit our system better.

The thing I do see Klopp interested in Shaqiri for is his potential to bring some much needed mongrel into the team. I mean, I love that we're a "nice guy" team (and Klopp does too), but to beat the Real Madrids when things aren't going ideal, you need some mongrel. Maybe that's part of the attraction.

Yeah it could be Ojo going on loan the other way. But unless Shaqiri is to be used as a cut price #10, many of us would just rather the Wilsons, Ojos, Woodburns etc got those rotational opportunities than Shaqiri.

I don't think it would be quite the doom and gloom of a Charlie Adam style signing as some people suggest, but there are actually a number of younger prospects out there with exceptional traits that could be brought in for a similar fee who'd more likely fit our system better.

The thing I do see Klopp interested in Shaqiri for is his potential to bring some much needed mongrel into the team. I mean, I love that we're a "nice guy" team (and Klopp does too), but to beat the Real Madrids when things aren't going ideal, you need some mongrel. Maybe that's part of the attraction.

What Mongrel has Shaqiri displayed well apart from upsetting all the Serbs which would make a interesting meeting with Grujic!

What Mongrel has Shaqiri displayed well apart from upsetting all the Serbs which would make a interesting meeting with Grujic!

Haha hey he got stuck in in a positive fashion on a number of times for Stoke even during lengthy periods of his teammates giving absolutely nothing. Holding the ball up with strength and/or trickery while surrounded by players. Winning the ball back when you don't expect him to bother.

Ha I know, we're not raising the bar high and oh, I still don't personally deem that to be enough, but I'm guessing that may be just enough to sway a deal for our club/manager at that price. Shame.

I think that the way this transfer is viewed will depend on what further business is done between now and the end of the transfer window. If it's followed up with a Goal-Keeper, another forward (who can also play as a 9) and a replacement for Coutinho (i'd also like another left-back) then it's not a bad piece of business, particularly if it enables a bigger chunk of change to be released for the other players we need. If those players don't come in it will not look so.

As for the player, he will have a lot to prove. Definitely talented but rightfully questions being asked about his workrate off the ball and whether he has the commitment & attitude to achieve at a Top club after his previous failures at Inter and Munich (I think it was those two?)

Just quickly without straying off topic for long, what kind of player you thinking for our rotational #9? It's a hard position to find, considering the qualities we're looking for. Harder than our search for a #10. If Firmino was out for a big game, I'd suspect we'd consider using Salah in the middle, and just one of our collection of back up forwards for the smaller games. Definitely not ideal.

As for LB, I agree, although I suspect while Moreno and Milner are still at the club this will not be addressed. Their contracts are running out, however, so it's probably going to just be deemed a next year problem. I reckon Van Aanholt would do great in our system (although he ain't getting any younger).

But yeah if we get Shaqiri, but then don't get genuine starters at GK and #10, I agree, such a signing would feel particularly disappointing.

Just quickly without straying off topic for long, what kind of player you thinking for our rotational #9? It's a hard position to find, considering the qualities we're looking for. Harder than our search for a #10. If Firmino was out for a big game, I'd suspect we'd consider using Salah in the middle, and just one of our collection of back up forwards for the smaller games. Definitely not ideal.

As for LB, I agree, although I suspect while Moreno and Milner are still at the club this will not be addressed. Their contracts are running out, however, so it's probably going to just be deemed a next year problem. I reckon Van Aanholt would do great in our system (although he ain't getting any younger).

But yeah if we get Shaqiri, but then don't get genuine starters at GK and #10, I agree, such a signing would feel particularly disappointing.

Hi mate, regards the number 9 position, Aubameyang would have been perfect. I'm perplexed as to why we didn't go for him. He can play as a 9 but is equally as comfortable playing on the left in a 3 and versatile enough to play right as well. Given he had a successful past with with Klopp and was a proven player it was a no brainer for me. Ideally it would be a similar type of player, a genuine tweener who can operate across all three spots (or at least two of them). As things stand, a nasty injury to Firmino in September could derail our entire season so that's not a great place to be in. Salah as you say could fill in but I think you would blunt his effectiveness to some degree if you asked him to play as a 9 (or a false 9). It would actually be at the top of my list after a new Keeper because the drop off in quality to the likes of Ings, Origi and Solanke is pretty shocking. Young Brewster might see some game time this year but I'm not sure he is the next Marcus Rashford based on what I've seen of him so far albeit he is a talent.

As for left-back, again if Robbo had a nasty injury can we really be comfortable with Moreno for an extended period of time?! DEspite his strong form pre-injury last season i'll never trust the lad. The next big error is always just around the corner (that pretty much sums up my feelings on Karius as well). But I think your right, we're not in the market for a LB so Klopp must be content with Bertie as back-up.