Liverpool attacking duo Xherdan Shaqiri and Takumi Minamino are set to be the subject of a €25 million double transfer swoop by Sevilla.
According to a report from Spanish publication La Razon, La Liga outfit Sevilla are plotting a double raid on Premier League champions, Liverpool, for the transfer of Takumi Minamino and Xherdan Shaqiri.
Minamino joined Liverpool from Red Bull Salzburg in the January transfer window last year but has never quite been able to showcase the abilities that made the Reds swoop him away from Austria. Having been unable to make the desired impact in his first year at the club, the Japanese international secured a loan exit last January to Southampton.
Shaqiri, meanwhile, has been at Liverpool longer, having signed from Stoke City in the summer of 2018. But, he too has never been able to nail down a regular starting berth under Jurgen Klopp and has largely been used as a bit-part squad player for most of his stint in Merseyside.
At Liverpool, Klopp has Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane as his first-choice attacking trident. Summer signing Diogo Jota has also become a prominent member of the team, leaving the likes of Shaqiri and Minamino to feed off scraps.
But with Firmino struggling to find the goals and Salah’s continued links to an exit, Klopp and Liverpool might need to go big on an attacker in the summer transfer window, with PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe said to be on the club’s wishlist. However, the finances that would be involved in signing him could be massive, which could be difficult in the post-pandemic market.
One way to generate some funds towards the signing of a superstar in the summer would be offloading some of the fringe players in the squad who do not belong in the manager’s scheme anymore. And Shaqiri could be one such player, who Liverpool look to cash in on at the end of the season.
The Switzerland international still has a couple of years left on his contract but is hardly used in a starting capacity by Klopp. And with Sevilla willing to offer around €15 million for the 29-year-old, the Reds might consider green-lighting the deal in the summer.
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The same goes for Minamino as well, with the fact that he was allowed to leave on loan being an indicator that he is not a major part of the plans under Klopp. And if Liverpool were to sign another attacker, the 26-year-old’s situation would only stand to get worse.
Sevilla, however, are ready to offer a way out to the Japanese international with a €10 million bid being readied, as per the report. It now remains to be seen if Liverpool are willing to accept the €25 million double deal to offload their fringe players or seek a higher transfer fee. Nevertheless, there could be significant changes at Anfield come summer.
