Reports linking Liverpool with a move for Christian Pulisic have resurfaced again this week, with Jurgen Klopp’s time working with the USA wonderkid at Borussia Dortmund providing substance to rumours which suggest a future reunion is on the cards.
In the midst of Jadon Sancho’s rise to prominence in the Bundesliga there has been a notable casualty. Pulisic has been the golden boy for the media to salivate over and watch with a keen eye in recent years, but that narrative has shifted this season following Sancho’s electric opening to the campaign.
The recently capped England international has forced Pulisic to take a back seat this season, and he has made just four Bundesliga starts as a consequence. Naturally that has provoked fresh speculation about where his future lies, and Liverpool have been touted as a possible destination.
According to a recent report from Goal, John Aldridge has identified Pulisc as the “Coutinho-type” playmaker which Liverpool are lacking, despite the fact the American wonderkid has established his glowing reputation from wide positions.
It’s not completely unreasonable to suggest that Pulisic could yet establish himself as a number ten, but at this moment in time he is not the Coutinho type player which Aldridge has made him out to be.
However, summer recruit Xherdan Shaqiri is not too far away from growing into the Coutinho replacement which Liverpool fans have been craving.
Shaqiri boasts a similar repertoire of characteristics to the one which Coutinho showcased during his Liverpool career: a shrewd eye for an incisive through ball, exceptional technique when shooting from long-range, adept at finding space between the lines of midfield and attack and a dazzling dribbling ability.
Although Shaqiri has spent the majority of his time in English football at right-wing, where he has cut inside onto his favoured left-foot to devastating effect, he looks well suited to a number ten role at Liverpool.
In a market which is characterised by extortionate transfer prices, Liverpool have no need to move into the market to sign a replacement for their former Brazilian talisman, as Shaqiri’s possesses the ability to mirror Coutinho’s influence on Merseyside.
That’s a statement which would have been laughed off just a few months ago, and with good reason, but the early stages of Shaqiri’s career at Liverpool hint that he was destined to climb to the highest reaches of European football all along.
Liverpool fans – thoughts? Let us know below!
