For most of the season, it's been a relatively calm season for Liverpool. After the success of last season, most fans likely expected their team to do well this year, and so their impressive form in the Premier League likely didn't come as much of a shock to most.

They've been improving at a rapid rate over the last year or two, and so that improvement is likely expected to continue.

However, that doesn't mean that Anfield has been void of shocks or surprises this season, and that's certainly true in the context of the playing squad.

A number of players at Liverpool will have likely surprised fans, either for the quality or lack thereof, but nobody can quite compare to Xherdan Shaqiri when you think of players that will have left fans open-mouthed.

Signed from Stoke, Shaqiri was a signing that went relatively under the radar. He wasn't the biggest recruit, and he certainly wasn't the most expensive, and he likely moved to the club with a view of being a rotational option.

However, already this season he's become something more.

The versatile Swiss attacker has filled in for a number of players already this season, with minutes coming both out wide and through the middle.

Though most likely knew of his quality, few would have anticipated him bringing it in with such force. He's a dynamic player with bags of energy, technical ability and pace, and that has made him a real nuisance for opposition defenders.

He's only been at the club for a few months, but he's already staked a claim to become a regular starter, particularly as a number 10-type player in the absence of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

If his opening few months is anything to go by, the rest of the season could see him go from strength to strength.