Xherdan Shaqiri Insists He Chose to Stay & Fight for Liverpool Place

Liverpool forward Xherdan Shaqiri has claimed he rejected the chance to leave Anfield this summer as he wants to fight for his spot in the team.

The 29-year-old found minutes hard to come by last season, playing just eight minutes in the second half of the campaign, and he has only managed to make one matchday squad this year - for the Carabao Cup victory over Lincoln City.

It was widely expected that Shaqiri would leave Anfield this summer, particularly after Jürgen Klopp's expensive acquisition of Diogo Jota, but a frustrated Shaqiri told reporters (via the Daily Mail) that he elected to stay and wants to bring an end to the speculation on his future.

"We are here to play an international game and I don't want to talk too much about Liverpool because this is a good game and we must not forget it," Shaqiri began.

"Sure, in football there is always speculation and the players think about their situations. That is completely normal. And of course, I have also thought about it, that is completely normal. But in the end I decided to stay there. The transfer window is now closed.

"Now I will go back to training with the team after these international matches and try to continue to perform well, which I have already proven a few times, also at Liverpool. And that is my goal."

However, Shaqiri's claim that it was his decision to stay is countered by Turkish outlet Takvim, who state that the Swiss international was seconds away from sealing a loan move for Fenerbahçe when Klopp decided to pull the plug on the move.

Liverpool had agreed to offload Shaqiri, but the 7-2 loss to Aston Villa on the night before deadline day is said to have changed Klopp's mind, with the boss keen to have more options available going forward.

Despite this apparent show of loyalty from Klopp, Shaqiri remains arguably Liverpool's seventh-choice forward. There's obviously the star trio of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané, but Jota, Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino all appear to be ahead of Shaqiri in the pecking order as well.

Minutes still appear incredibly hard to come by for Shaqiri, and that won't be helped by the fact that Liverpool are now out of the Carabao Cup.

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