Shaqiri drew the curtain on a three-year spell at Anfield in the summer, having left the club for Ligue 1 giants Lyon for an initial €6m plus bonuses.
Although Klopp lost one of his senior options in attack, the likes of Elliott has ensured the German is not shorthanded up front, although the teen talent missed a large chunk of the first half of this season through injury.
Reds legend Rush insists that the fact Klopp allowed Shaqiri to leave ahead of the current campaign shows how much he believes in Elliott’s qualities.
Rush added that Elliott’s versatility is also one key reason why Klopp rates him highly, having deployed him on the right wing and in an attacking midfield role.
“What works in Harvey’s favour is that he’s very versatile”, Rush wrote in his Gambling.com column.
“His best position is arguably on the right, but that’s Salah’s flank, although I think the two of them actually link up pretty well when they’re on the pitch together.
“His talent is one of the main reasons Klopp was willing to let Xherdan Shaqiri go last summer – he got £9.5million for Shaqiri and already had a better replacement in his ranks with Harvey, so that just goes to show you how much Klopp believes in him.”
While Elliott has returned to the first team fold having returned from injury, Shaqiri struggled to make an impact at Lyon and has now sealed a move to Chicago Fire, meaning Liverpool will not net the bonus payments from the deal.
