Xherdan Shaqiri has become the third Liverpool player to contract COVID-19 in less than a month. The Switzerland midfielder was confirmed positive for the virus when he was tested by his country’s football association ahead of the country’s friendly match against Croatia on October 7.
The 27-year-old Swiss football star will not only miss the friendly match, but he will also miss the country’s European Nations League match against Spain on October 10 and against Germany on October 13.
According to the Swiss football association, the Liverpool midfielder is self-isolating in the country; subsequent coronavirus tests would be carried out on him until he fully recovers.
As it stands, Xherdan Shaqiri who last played and scored a goal for Liverpool on September 24 against Lincoln City in an EFL Cup third-round match that ended 2-7 in favor of Liverpool, is the third player of the club that is currently battling to fully recover from the virus.
Thiago Alcantara who joined Liverpool from Bayern Munich in September was the first A-list player at the club that was confirmed to be a carrier of the virus. In less than a week after, Sadio Mane was confirmed infected with the virus. As of the time of publishing this report, there was no news that they have fully recovered.
Arsenal and St Etienne trade words over William Saliba
Arsenal‘s 19-year-old defender William Saliba ought to return to St Etienne on loan during the just concluded summer transfer window. But the deal did not see the light of the day. Hence, the youngster will have to remain at Arsenal until another transfer window.
The French youngster spent the whole of last season at the French Ligue 1 side and the club wanted him to return to the club for another season-long loan deal.
However, both the Premier League club and the French Ligue 1 side failed to finalize the deal despite the fact that they have both agreed on the deal on Monday, the eve of the transfer deadline. St Etienne believes that it was Arsenal’s fault that William Saliba could not return to France this summer.
The French club said: “Long before the transfer window closed, AS Saint-Étienne had reached an agreement with William Saliba and accepted Arsenal’s offer for a season-long loan.
“Unfortunately, all the administrative conditions could not be met in time, in England, for the finalization of the file.
“There is a great disappointment for ASSE and William Saliba, who was particularly determined to return to the club where he had flourished.”
While Arsenal insisted that it was St Etienne that failed to submit the necessary registration details before the end of the deadline day, October 5. The Premier League club also insisted that they did all they could at their own end to ensure that the loan deal materialized.
