Liverpool have completed their third signing of the summer after snapping up Swiss winger Xherdan Shaqiri from Stoke City for £13million.
Shaqiri signed a five-year deal and comes in to join Naby Keita and Fabinho who joined earlier in the summer.
The Swiss winger just came from the World Cup where he scored the winner against Serbia and helped Switzerland to the second round where they were beaten by Sweden.
Shaqiri will join up with the Liverpool squad for their three-game tour of the United States, where they will play in the International Champions Cup against Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and Manchester United.
Shaqiri scored 8 goals for Stoke last season but was unable to save them from relegation as they faced the drop at the end of the season.
“I’m very happy to be here,” he said
“It’s a huge club with big history, big players and a fantastic coach. So I’m really glad and happy to be here.
“As a player you always want to be on the biggest stage in football. A few years ago I wanted to come too but it didn’t happen. I’m really happy that now I’m finally here. I want to improve myself too, I want to be with the best and I want to win titles. That’s what I’m here for.” he added
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was delighted with the signing and noted that it was the right time for Shaqiri to move to a Champions League club
“I think the English phrase to explain the decision to sign Xherdan is a ‘no-brainer’. When someone like him becomes available in this way you have to react if you are smart – and we have,”
He added: “He has speed and ability, has the right amount of arrogance on the football pitch, real bravery to want the ball and influence things. To play for us these are mandatory requirements.
“We are the perfect move for him in this moment as well I think, because he needs to push himself and challenge himself and our environment encourages that. We will want him to express himself but also learn and improve the areas of his game where he can still make progression.
“From our perspective, he is someone who makes a big difference to the squad and team, because he can fit in so many positions in our system. He gives us greater flexibility in how we can use our current players also. This is cool.”
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