Arsenal Legend Ian Wright Claims Liverpool Star Can Replace Philippe Coutinho
Former Arsenal forward Ian Wright believes Liverpool don't have to go shopping for a Philippe Coutinho replacement as they already have one in their ranks.
The Brazilian left Anfield for Barcelona in January to the tune of £142m and Jurgen Klopp is thought to still be keen on finding a replacement.
According to Wright, though, Liverpool already have a player on their books who is similar to Coutinho in Xherdan Shaqiri.
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The Switzerland international has been eased into the squad but has been impressive when given an opportunity and scored his first goal for the club in their thrashing of Cardiff City last weekend.
“If you’re Xherdan Shaqiri, you’re delighted that Liverpool have come for you when Stoke have just gone down," Wright declared, via the Daily Star.
“You’re not going to turn down Liverpool and you are going to wait your turn, just like we’ve seen with Fabinho.
“Fabinho came and had to wait his turn and he looks amazing and what you get when you’re a team like Liverpool now is people say, ‘I know this manager will play me at some stage and if I do play he will probably keep me in the team.’
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“You know you’re going to get a fair chance and that is all you want. When you look at Shaqiri, the rest of them aren’t like how he is.
“I think that he occupies what Coutinho would occupy and he’s got a little bit more in respects of the way he can run at people, he can pick out the passes, get in the box and score goals.
“He’s not Coutinho but he’s not a million miles away from that calibre of player in respect of what he can bring to the team. Free kicks, he can do everything.”
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Despite his brilliance in recent outings, the attacker was not allowed to travel with the Reds for their Champions League clash with Red Star Belgrade amid the controversy brought about by his eagle celebration after he scored against Serbia at the World Cup during the summer.
