Liverpool open talks with Bayern Munich over Xherdan Shaqiri

Xherdan Shaqiri

Liverpool have reportedly opened up talks with Bayern Munich with a view to signing Swiss midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri according to Gianluca Di Marzio, suggesting they may be giving up their pursuit of Southampton’s Adam Lallana.

Liverpool have been heavily linked with Lallana and looked as though they would be almost certain to claim his signature after reports suggested that he had indeed handed in a transfer request at St Mary’s stadium after the Saints had rejected a bid in the region of £25million.

Southampton are reportedly holding out for £30million for their homegrown playmaker, a fee that manager Brendan Rodgers is loath to pay, and he has instead turned his attentions to want-away midfielder Shaqiri.

Shaqiri is reportedly unhappy with his situation at Bayern after finding his first-team opportunities restricted at the Allianz Arena and the Swiss international has signalled his intention to quit the club in the summer to find a club that values his abilities more.

Liverpool are now willing to abandon the chase for Lallana to focus their attentions on Shaqiri, with a more reasonable fee expected to be asked of by Bayern, as the case of Mario Mandzukic has shown that they have no intention of blocking the path of any player determined to leave the club.

The clubs are now locked in negotiations over the exciting attacking midfielder and there is every possibility that a deal could be struck in the near future as Brendan Rodgers builds a side capable of competing on both domestic and European fronts, with Liverpool having returned to Champions League football for next season. Shaqiri has Champions League experience too, having featured in Bayern’s European glory back in 2013.