Premier League Golden Boot winner Kevin Phillips backed Xherdan Shaqiri to 'shine' if he joined Celtic.

Football Insider reported at the end of April that Shaqiri is looking for a new club.

And they asked Phillips this week whether Celtic should pursue the wantaway Switzerland international.

"Shaqiri has got a lot of quality and I think he would shine up in that league," he told FI.

"That would be a great signing for Celtic so long as they did not have to break the bank to get him in."

Shaqiri is valued at £12.6million by Transfermarkt, a touch under Liverpool's £13million outlay in 2018.

The 29-year-old has just over two years left on his contract however, so perhaps there could be some wiggle room on that value seeing as he has started just five league matches this season, via Whoscored.

'Shaqiri sometimes goes missing'

Phillips says one worry for Celtic would be the consistency of Shaqiri's performances.

"He is a good player but I'd be concerned that sometimes he goes missing," he said.

"You need perform week in, week out because it is paramount that they win the league next season."

Shaqiri has played a total of 788 minutes for Jurgen Klopp's side this season, scoring one goal and providing four assists.

Klopp has predominantly deployed him as an attacking midfielder but he's also been used on the right-hand side.

After Shaqiri teed-up Diogo Jota's winning goal against West Ham at the end of October, Graeme Souness labelled him a 'door opener' who 'sees a pass and can deliver on it'.

Transfer Tavern verdict

It seems a little harsh to question Shaqiri's consistency levels given that he's rarely given a sustained run in the side, such is the quality in Liverpool's squad even despite their faltering campaign.

Were he to head to North, he would be the most successful player in the entire league - let's not forget this is a man with English, German and Swiss league titles to his name as well as two Champions League, two Super Cup and two Club World Cup medals, via Transfermarkt.

The unfortunate truth is that he might be aiming a little higher than the SPL, but if Celtic could convince the playmaker to reignite his career north of the border, it would be one hell of a coup.

In other news, could this player head the other way?