- The Kop Times - Daily LFC Transfer News and Gossips

We have been here before and have often been left with our mouth open wide but Liverpool have officially completed a deal for Xherdan Shaqiri.

Shaqiri was the best player for Stoke City last season as he scored 8 goals and provided 7 assists for the Potters. However, even with that output, they were relegated and that is partly why we have signed him on the cheap.

The Swiss Messi would provide us with not only quality cover for our front three, but he is also a match-winner and could make the difference on days when things don’t go right.

There is another aspect of Shaqiri’s that we must not take lightly, and that is his fighting ability. The player has had a tough upbringing, since moving to Switzerland as a refugee. His grit and determination will be a huge factor, especially when we go up against physical sides.

The Shaq should have been a Liverpool player years ago but there is no better time than the present and it will be amazing to have the Swiss star at Anfield.

However, despite Shaqiri’s presence, we cannot be considered title contenders.

An A Grade attack, an A Grade midfield but its still not enough

Shaqiri might play out wide or through the middle but our attack is not the concern for the upcoming season. Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Shaqiri are quality players while the likes of Divock Origi, Danny Ings, Daniel Sturridge and Dominic Solanke would provide cover for the first-teamers.

Even if we sell a couple from the latter quartet or send them out on loan, Liverpool should be alright for the rest of the season.

The midfield has also seen a lot of new arrivals with Naby Keita and Fabinho adding quality to the team. With James Milner, Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana, Georginio Wijnaldum and a few of the young players to play in the cup matches, we are still short in the defence and goalkeeping departments.

Liverpool fans will know what plagues us between the sticks as Loris Karius is not having the best time since moving from Mainz.

We might as well go ahead with Danny Ward as our No.1 keeper for the upcoming season but that doesn’t provide us with a lot of confidence. Not unless the young Welshman produces some quality performances early on in the season, at least.

The defence certainly has improved after we signed Virgil van Dijk but we still have problems. That said, the number of errors created by our defence should decrease after the arrivals of Fabinho and Keita, who will do a lot of the work in the heart of the park.

It also boils down to the mentality of the side and the players. We don’t have a number of winners and until we pick up some sort of trophy under Klopp, the Premier League will be a tough task.

The competition lasts for the entire season and unlike a cup game, you need to be on point for at least 32-33 games of the season.

Throw that in with the Champions League, League Cup and FA Cup games and you have a number of competitions that can wreak havoc upon the side.

Klopp is an experienced manager who has dealt with all this before but our team is extremely young and needs a few more “winners” in the team.

Someone like a Yaya Toure would have been great for the side. Furthermore, an old keeper like Buffon would have really made a difference even if he did not play often.