Jason McAteer is of the view that Xherdan Shaqiri will continue to struggle to get into the Liverpool starting eleven consistently as he does not suit Jurgen Klopp’s philosophy and will find it hard in games with high ntensity.
Shaqiri started and scored in Liverpool’s 5-2 win over Everton at Anfield on Wednesday night and it was his first league appearance in the starting eleven this season.
McAteer conceded that Shaqiri reminds him of Daniel Sturridge, who struggled to win over Klopp during his time at the club and was widely considered not to be able to suit the German's style.
He feels Shaqiri’s quality means he can make an impact from the bench, but is of the view the intensity Klopp wants from his players will mean the Swiss will struggle to play regularly.
The former midfielder insisted that the kind of player the Shaqiri is, he is likely to struggle in bigger games when the intensity is likely to be much more.
“I am not putting him in Daniel Sturridge’s bracket”, McAteer said on LFC TV's post Everton show.
“Daniel didn’t fit into the philosophy of what Jurgen wanted. He wanted his front players to press, to win the ball back high up the pitch and then he wanted him to get into the box and score goals.
“He wasn’t this way and that is the way Daniel plays, and that’s not to say Daniel is a bad player. He is an unbelievable player in the right team with the right manager.
“Shaq is a bit like that, he doesn’t really suit Klopp’s philosophy.
“But he has got enough qualities for 40 minutes, 50 minutes and maybe an hour.
“Tonight was a one-off for Shaq because of the way Everton played but you get a game of high intensity where he might struggle like a Sheffield United or maybe a Manchester City or even United.
“You will see Shaq struggling from the beginning and I am not knocking him at all but that is just the way he plays.
“He is a fantastic player and a great player for 45 minutes or an hour but sometimes the intensity overtakes him.”
Shaqiri has missed a chunk of the season due to a calf injury and will be hoping his outing against Everton can lead to further starts in the coming weeks.
