When the news of Liverpool’s interest in signing Xherdan Shaqiri filtered through at the beginning of June, the 27-year-old was among esteemed company. As when Jürgen Klopp pursued Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, there was widespread skepticism over how the Switzerland international’s skill set would work at Anfield.



It was also the case that Shaqiri—who finished second-bottom in the Premier League with Stoke City last season—felt like an underwhelming prize to many supporters. Gini Wijnaldum and Andy Robertson, too, had been relegated with their Newcastle United and Hull City sides, respectively, before moving to Liverpool.



Shaqiri had previously played for Basel, Bayern Munich, and Inter Milan before switching to the Potters in 2015, and the outside take was that his opportunity to tattoo his influence on a big club was already behind him.



At the Allianz Arena, he was the victim of Bayern’s...