Report: Xherdan Shaqiri to join Stoke City
According to Sky Sports Italia, Swiss star Xherdan Shaqiri is set to leave Serie A giants Inter Milan to join Premier League team Stoke City.
BREAKING: Sky Italia sources: @stokecity agree fee of £12million with @Inter for Xherdan Shaqiri. #SSNHQ
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 1, 2015
The creative midfielder, who began his professional career with Swiss SuperLeague club FC Basel, first gained recognition following a UEFA Champions’ League game against mighty Manchester United when he tormented United’s defense and provided 2 assist in a huge upset that helped them advance to the knockout stage for the very first time in club history, where they even defeated Bayern Munich in the first leg of a matchup they eventually lost on aggregate.
Shaqiri’s performances impressed the German outfit enough that they signed him for a fee close to $15 million. He was unable to consistently make the lineup while with Bayern, mainly due to the presence of Arjen Robben, whose role on the team was similar to Shaqiri’s preferred position as an attacking playmaker. In all, from the beginning of the 2012-2013 season through January of 2015, Shaqiri only made 52 appearances, scoring 11 times.
Even though he struggled to make an impact, Shaqiri still enjoyed a tremendous season with Bayern in 2012-2013, as he was part of the squad that won the treble of the Bundesliga, the German Cup, and the UEFA Champions’ League.
While not a first-team regular with his club, Shaqiri was one of the key players on the Swiss national team that qualified for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Behind his leadership, Switzerland garnered 2 wins to advance to the round of 16. In spite of Shaqiri’s efforts in a Man-of-the-Match caliber performance in midfield, outplaying the likes of Angel di Maria and Lionel Messi in the middle of the park, Argentina won with a late winner in extra-time.
Swiss fans will fondly remember Shaqiri’s performance against Honduras in their final group stage match, where he netted a hat-trick to ensure qualification.
Similar to his time at Bayern, Shaqiri was unable to make an impact at Inter following his move in January 2015, with manager Roberto Mancini preferring Rodrigo Palacio and Mauro Icardi as the strike partnership while Gary Medel and Mateo Kovacic dominated the midfield pairing. Lukas Podolski’s signing just before Shaqiri’s move limited his opportunities even more.
Still only 23, Shaqiri now has the opportunity to revive his career with Stoke. With young Spanish sensation Bojan Krkić in the lineup, along with Charlie Adam and 2014-2015 club Player of the Year Steven N’Zonzi patrolling the midfield, Shaqiri can slot into the hole between Krkić up top and his creativity and physical strength will be an invaluable link between the midfield and attack, where he can create for others or take shots himself. Manager Mark Hughes has changed Stoke’s reputation from a group of long-ball and set-piece specialists to a possession-oriented team, and Shaqiri’s presence will help them assert more ball control.
