Liverpool are still reeling.
The Reds won the Premier League title at a canter last season but they have already been stunned by a genuinely shocking result this season.
On Sunday, they took on Aston Villa at Villa Park in what many will have expected to be a nondescript encounter, most likely ending with a Liverpool win.
Jurgen Klopp’s men, though, lost 7-2.
They did not lose until February last season, when they went down 3-0 to Watford, but this season, they have already tasted defeat in their fourth game of the campaign.
That is despite their business in the transfer window; the additions of Thiago Alcantara, Diogo Jota, and Kontantinos Tsimikas appeared to have adequately strengthened the squad.
But they have somewhat struggled when it comes to departures.
Rhian Brewster has moved to Sheffield United, Dejan Lovren has gone to Zenit St Petersburg and Adam Lallana has moved to Brighton & Hove Albion. Ovie Ejaria also left, while Nathaniel Clyne has left on a free transfer.
It appeared that Xherdan Shaqiri could join them in the departures lounge but it appears that no club wanted to take him.
Goal reports that there was not a single bid tabled for the Switzerland international, who has been with the Reds since 2018.
He made just two starts in the Premier League last season and, this term, has played only once, in the EFL Cup win over Lincoln City.
Shaqiri has not been included in any of Klopp’s squads in the Premier League, and there was said to be interest from clubs in Italy and Spain.
However, there was no formal bid tabled, meaning that Shaqiri is remaining at Anfield until January at the earliest.
In total, Shaqiri has made 42 appearances for Liverpool, scoring eight goals and registering five assists.
GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…
This is unfortunate for Shaqiri.
There’s not a lot Liverpool can do – if the interest isn’t there, they are helpless – but one has to feel that Shaqiri would want to move to a club where he can actually play.
At Liverpool, he has been nothing short of a bench option, some squad depth to play behind the likes of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah, and Sadio Mane.
But he’s good enough to be playing.
He has a CV the envy of most top footballers; he has played for Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, and Stoke City, and has won the Champions League twice, the Premier League, the Bundesliga, the Swiss league, the Club World Cup, the German Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup twice.
That there were no clubs willing to table a bid is a sad story for the 28-year-old, who surely has plenty left to give.