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Liverpool have turned down a bid from Serie A side Roma to take Swiss winger Xherdan Shaqiri on loan for the rest of the season.
It follows the injury suffered by Italian international Nicolo Zaniolo during Saturday’s home defeat to Juventus, which means he will miss the rest of the season and Euro 2020 after suffering Anterior Cruciate Ligament damage to his right knee.
Forced in to the transfer market to try and find a replacement, Roma enquired about Shaqiri’s availability, but were firmly rebuffed by the Champions League winners.
Shaqiri has been frustrated by his lack of first-team opportunities at Anfield since moving from Stoke in the summer of 2018, and has recently dropped hints that he may be ready to move on at the end of the season in order to find regular football.
However, with Liverpool chasing their first league title since 1990, there is no chance that Jurgen Klopp will be prepared to weaken his squad at such a critical point in the season.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.