Xherdan Shaqiri Happy at Liverpool

No one really likes to move. That’s a fact. Think about packing. Think about unpacking. Think about finding a new place. Think about leaving behind all of your familiar places. Think about leaving your friends and family. Moving sucks.

As an immigrant, moving is kind of part and parcel with my life story. And moving is not something anyone takes lightly or, generally, that most people do on a whim. Because it’s difficult and, to once more use a technical term, it sucks.

In the world of football, though, moving is generally an inevitability. Even for club mainstays like Steven Gerrard, moving abroad eventually became real. And with all of the things that one needs to contend with in terms of moving, players have the added pressure of performing immediately at their new club or risk being frozen out. Moving...well, you get it.

Thankfully, the experience of moving clubs hasn’t harmed Xherdan Shaqiri. The Swiss International has settled in quite comfortably into Jurgen Klopp’s side quite well since moving over from Stoke. And before you make jokes about that not being much a move, let me remind you that it’s over an hour drive from Stoke to Liverpool and, well, that’s not quite moving one city over either.

Either way, Shaqiri is performing quite well in filling the space in the squad left by Alexander Oxlade-Chamberlain’s injury. In four starts for Liverpool, Shaqiri has 1 goal and 3 assists, producing 1 g+a per start. That’s a pretty gaudy stat. And if the Albanian has it his way, only more good things are set to come.

“I’m very happy to be here and I’m settling in very well, but I think it’s going to be much, much better the longer I settle in. I’m very happy.”

It is, of course, great to have settled players in the squad. It bodes well to know that Shaq, in particular, has finally seemed to find his place in a big club, making good on all of that potential he’d shown. Here’s hoping we see more of the PowerCube doing amazing things at Anfield!