Rumour Mongering: Galatasaray Make Xherdan Shaqiri Top Transfer Target

Whenever we get around to completing the 2019-20 season there will be another offseason, another transfer window, and another round of departures and arrivals. And for Liverpool, it appears increasingly certain one of those departures will be of Xherdan Shaqiri.

Injuries and inconsistent form have kept the Swiss international on the fringes since he joined the Reds from Stoke City for £13.5M in 2018, and with the now 28-year-old eager to play regular football again he is expected to depart at the end of the current campaign.

As the rumour mongers in Turkey see it, he could end up at Galatasaray, with the Super Lig side looking to splash the cash and reestablish themselves at the top of the pecking order. However, we remain highly dubious, and it’s mostly down to the fees involved.

Reliable reports on the English side have established the Reds are looking to get a £28M fee for Shaqiri, who they took from Stoke on the cheap due to a relegation release clause, while the Turkish reports from FotoMac and others suggest he might cost €20M.

Even then, there is the suggestion that Galatasary would look to pay less—or perhaps would only be able to pay less—than that. Which makes for a valuation gap of roughly £10M, and with Liverpool having no real reason to come off their asking price for Shaqiri.

While the club appear willing to sell and to allow Shaqiri to move on for the right price, they have no real need to sell, and past experiences dealing with Turkish clubs suggest that there is little chance of Galatasaray coming close to their asking price for him.