Jürgen Klopp insists that Switzerland international Xherdan Shaqiri could have more than just a cameo role at Liverpool this season, suggesting that he's ready to shake up the squad as soon as results start to drop off.
Following a £13m move from Stoke City, Shaqiri made 30 appearances across all competitions for Liverpool during his maiden season with the club, but he's been limited to just 11 Premier League minutes so far this campaign.
Liverpool are one of just two teams to have a 100% winning record in Europe's top five leagues so far this season, alongside Serie A outfit Inter, but Klopp has stressed players like Shaqiri are ready to walk into the starting lineup if a change is needed.
"If the lineup is not performing the [others] are really there," Klopp said, quoted by The Guardian. "As an example, [Shaqiri] is so creative. He is a real option. If you have one good game and another good game the dynamic changes.
"Dejan Lovren is not in the squad and I have no explanation for that other than two centre-halves on the bench is probably not necessary. This is a really big club with competition between friends. It is not: ‘I have to kill him to play.’ It is really for the team.
"That is what the boys did so far and as long as we have that we will go for everything. Then we have to see what we get because we have really good opponents and that is the problem."
Shaqiri and co. will be given a chance to impress Klopp when he rotates the team for next week's Carabao Cup match against MK Dons.
But as Liverpool only have five players who've started each league match so far the season, Klopp has already shown that the club's fringe players will also have a chance to make a step up in the bigger competitions.
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