Oussama Assaidi. Fast. Agile. Skilful. So why has he not featured much in his relatively short Liverpool career? Rumour has it that Brendan Rodgers was not involved in the transfer, making it likely that Assaidi is of no interest to the Irishman. However, could the Irishman not find some spare game time for the Moroccan?
Last summer, Rodgers accepted a bid from Stoke City for the then 25-year old winger, meaning he would spend the entirity of the 2013-14 season at the Britannia Stadium, with the likes of ex-Reds Peter Crouch and Charlie Adam. Throughout the season, Assaidi made 19 appearances, scoring 5 goals altogether. In this time, Assaidi suffered ligament damage in a Stoke training camp in Dubai, ruling him out for 6 weeks. However, on return from injury, Stoke manager Mark Hughes revealed his desire to have the Moroccan at the Britannia on a permanent basis after his loan expired.
However, after being impressive in his few appearances, Rodgers may not allow him to leave without making a profit. The supposed asking price for the winger is £7 million, which Stoke are not willing to meet. So is Rodgers wanting to keep hold of the wideman, only allowing him to leave for nearly double what he was bought for just 2 years ago. Does Rodgers really believe Assaidi is twice the player he was when he arrived from Heerenveen? Or is this purely inflation?