Rumours: Xherdan Shaqiri to leave Bayern Munich in January

Xherdan Shaqiri of Bayern Muenchen is closed down by Ashley Cole of AS Roma during the UEFA Champions League Group E match between FC Bayern Munchen and AS Roma.

Swiss international winger Xherdan Shaqiri is set to leave Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in January, according to reports.

The tricky winger has seen his career come to a halt with the lack of opportunities he has got in his short career with the Bavarians. The 23-year old has appeared in only 3 league games so far this season, playing a mere 310 minutes in the “Red and Blue” of Bayern.

Since joining the Bavarian in the summer of 2012, Shaqiri has managed to see the pitch only 51 times. The winger was one of the hottest names going around the transfer gossip columns after several reports emerged that Liverpool had began courting the Swiss maestro, to make him a part of the package they wished to bring to Anfield to replace the enigmatic Luis Suarez.

His reputation wasn’t harmed when he went on to have a superb world cup in Brazil earlier this year. Shaqiri was one of the star performers of the tournament, in which he struck a hat-trick against Honduras, helping the team along the way to get in to the knock-out rounds where they eventually lost to eventual runners-up, Argentina. While Bayern remained adamant on keeping the Swiss international at The Allianz Arena this summer, the love affair might just be about to come to an end.

According to the reports coming out from Germany, Pep Guardiola seems to have grown dis-enchanted by Shaqiri and has reportedly said that he is not “clever enough” to warrant a starting place in his team. However, in the footballing world, one man’s poison becomes another man’s food.

And there is no doubts that Shaqiri still has a number of admirers left in the footballing and at the tender age of 23, there should be a lot of football left in him to enthrall the crowd. Liverpool and Arsenal are said to be front-runners according to the German media when it comes to clubs pursuing the Swiss international’s signature, if he is to leave Bayern.