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Liverpool's attempts to bring in as many players as possible prior to the start of the World Cup produced mixed results--Rickie Lambert remains the only officially official new signing after having completed a medical and leaned on various Melwood structures, while a deal for Emre Can is finished in principle but not yet finalized. The club's efforts to sign a few others didn't quite pay off, with Adam Lallana, Alberto Moreno, and Xherdan Shaqiri all confirmed targets that couldn't quite be wrapped up.
That last name continues to feel a bit fanciful; Liverpool going after a high-profile target isn't necessarily new, as Brendan Rodgers and company worked to sign each of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Diego Costa, and Willian over the course of the last year, but unlike last summer, there's the sense that now there's a legitimate possibility they could push through a deal for a player of Shaqiri's class, with talks ongoing according to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano.
Liverpool wants #Shaqiri, talks ongoing #LFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 13, 2014
Again, proceedings in Brazil will likely see any actual movement with the player stalled until July, though it's again exciting to entertain thoughts of a deal being settled. Whether or not it happens remains to be seen, but there's at least the belief this summer that Liverpool are as attractive a destination as they've been in years, and there appear to be fewer and fewer reasons a player like Xherdan Shaqiri wouldn't make the move.
