Liverpool could try to sign Norwich's Buendia as Shaqiri's replacement (Echo)

The Reds will return to action after their winter break with a Premier League clash at Norwich City - and one man will be particularly interesting to watch out for.

Emiliano Buendia assisted Teemu Pukki when Norwich visited Anfield on the opening day of the season, and has made six more assists since then, impressing as those who followed him at Ingolstadt expected he would upon moving to England.

On the latest edition of the Analysing Anfield show on the Blood Red channel, Kristian Walsh and Josh Williams spoke about a variety of interesting players, but the Argentine attacking midfielder was certainly one who both like.

Williams explained: "Norwich have some cash flow problems in terms of not being able to reject any bids that are respectable."

And Walsh added: "Buendia fits a part of the squad that might need filling.

"He plays on the right and he's a bit of a wildcard. Defensively he isn't the best and he might need a bit of tactical instruction, but he's only 24, so he can be coached.

"He could fill the Shaqiri role which could be coming free in the summer.

"Zero goals and seven assists doesn't really tell the whole story.

"In terms of expected assists per 90, if you look at the top 10 in the Premier League, it's a a whole host of Man City players, two Liverpool players - Trent and Salah - and Pascal Gross, though he is a set-piece taker.

"Lys Mousset as well, but Buendia is in there. It's 0.31 expected assists per 90 which would put him level with Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

"And that's from a pretty big sample size of around 1800 minutes.

"I like the look of him. He's an attacking player who would fit in well. Norwich are going down, but it feels as if there is a player there.

"He'd have to improve his output - he's not scored, and he'd have to sort that."

Concluding the chat on Buendia, Williams said: "If we do lose Shaqiri, we'd probably get more money for Shaqiri than Norwich would charge for Buendia."

A move for the number 10 could prove to be excellent value for money given all of those considerations.

Talk later turned to how Norwich will prove to be a stern test for the Reds, with their league position (20th) perhaps not telling the whole story.

For instance, in the Anfield clash on the opening day of the season, which finished 4-1 to the Reds, Liverpool only had seven shots on target to Norwich's five, while the visitors had a total of 12 shots on goal across the 90 minutes.

Williams began: "When you delve into the numbers, they are maybe not as bad as what they look like in the table.

"It's relatively undeserved to an extent - I don't think they are the worst coached team in the league."

Walsh said: "We've said this before: you can only be as strong as your weakest link and it feels like there are a fair few weak links in that team.

"85 minutes of a strong performance can be let down by five minutes of under-performance, whether that is an error at the back or poor form in front of goal."

Williams added: "Plenty of times, I have referenced Manchester City and their playing style - because of the way that you play, you're taking plenty of risks.

"Building from the back, defending on the halfway line, pressing and placing a lot of burden on your players to be able to cope with those demands.

"One mistake when you're playing that brand of football usually ends up with a big chance materialising.

"Norwich are similar, all be it with worse players. The numbers are OK but the results are terrible."

Liverpool could go 58 points ahead of Norwich with a victory at Carrow Road, while the gap to Manchester City in second place would increase to 25 should the Reds collect the three points.