Earlier this week, Stoke City shelled out a club record £12 million fee for Inter Milan winger Xherdan Shaqiri, who became the Potters’ ninth summer signing. Following his move to the Staffordshire outfit, the 23-year-old – who allegedly turned down Everton and Newcastle, amongst others – admitted he was keen to work under long-term admirer, Mark Hughes:
“It is very important for me to have the coach behind me showing great belief in me, and Mark Hughes has done that. He’s a great guy, a great coach and somebody that I’m excited to work for. We have had many conversations, spoke about lots of different things and in the end, this was the move that I really wanted to make. Everything about it fits and for me, it is the perfect decision. Stoke have some very good players at the club; they are growing stronger and stronger, which is hugely important. I am sure that we will make a very good season together, play good football and show the supporters some really exciting times.”
The History
Having emigrated from Yugoslavia to Switzerland at an early age, Shaqiri joined FC Basel’s academy in 2001. He worked his way up the youth ranks, playing in the fourth tier of Swiss football for two years with the reserve side. After signing a professional contract in January 2009, Shaqiri made his debut in the first league tie of the 2009/10 season, swiftly establishing himself as a permanent starter at St. Jakob-Park.
After tallying four goals and five assists in the 2009/10 campaign, Shaqiri performed marginally better the following season, notching five goals and as many assists in 29 outings. The 2011/12 campaign proved to be the Switzerland international’s stand-out year at Basel, harvesting nine goals and nine assists across 31 appearances. Bayern Munich subsequently moved to snap up the burgeoning talent in February 2012, sealing a deal that saw Shaqiri team up with the Bundesliga giants that summer.
Shaqiri played second fiddle to the likes of Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Thomas Muller in his debut campaign at the Allianz Arena, chalking up four goals and six assists in 26 outings (13 starts). Intermittent injuries then conspired to limit Shaqiri to just 17 appearances (10 starts and 782 minutes) in the 2013/14 campaign, yet he still managed to record six goals and two assists. Having earned just three starts in the first half of the 2014/15 season, Shaqiri plotted a course to Inter Milan in January 2015.
The former Basel starlet never made more than three successive starts during his spell I Nerazzurri, with Mateo Kovacic and Hernanes eating into his playing time. He finished the campaign with one goal and two assists across 15 outings, having clocked up just 747 minutes in the league.
Shaqiri has been an ever-present in the Swiss national side since making his senior debut back in March 2010. The stocky winger has been one of their most influential players over the past year, bagging an eye-catching haul of five goals and seven assists in seven appearances. In total, he has scored 17 times in 46 outings for Switzerland.
The Prospects
Having snapped up the likes of Bojan Krkic and Ibrahim Afellay over the past year, Hughes’ latest acquisition is undoubtedly a statement of real intent as he continues his transformation of the Britannia side. The Potters boss conceded it took some time to land his marquee signing after chasing the Swiss international for a number of months:
“I’ve met him on a number of occasions. Sometimes you have to be patient and others you just have to wait for circumstances to drop into place and that gives you an advantage. You never burn bridges or close the door on a deal because you never know further down the line when you might get another opportunity to speak with the same player. I’m delighted to get Xherdan over the line. He’s a very talented football player and I think when people see him playing in the Premier League they will realise what a good player he is.
Shaqiri has operated in a multitude of positions (left/right wing and central attacking midfield) over the past three seasons, ensuring that Hughes has a versatile forward at his disposal. Clearly, he was always going to struggle to cement a starting berth at Bayern in light of their top-tier wingers but, in spite of his toils at Inter, it’s fair to say he’ll undoubtedly be a regular for the Potters.
The Swiss international can play in any of the attacking midfield slots in Hughes’ preferred 4-2-3-1 set-up, though with Bojan – when fit – likely to earn the central role, Shaqiri offers the Potters an option on either flank. Providing Bojan can remain fully fit when he returns, this would leave the likes of Afellay, Marko Arnautovic and Jon Walters battling for the final slot in the role behind Mame Biram Diouf. The new boy’s arrival will also ensure Diouf is fielded exclusively as a forward this term, having played on the right flank on a number of occasions last season.
Coming in at 7.0 in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, Shaqiri is easily the priciest option on offer amongst Stoke’s midfield. Nonetheless, he certainly harbours the potential to be a top pick, as evidenced by the exceptional underlying statistics he posted at Inter. Despite a lack of playing time, Shaqiri’s shot frequency (one every 24.9 minutes) would have surpassed any Premier League midfielder that clocked over 500 minutes last term, with Alexis Sanchez (25.4) topping that leaderboard. Moreover, his key pass frequency (one attempt every 22 minutes) far outstripped last season’s most consistently creative midfielder, Mesut Ozil (27.8). On the flip side, a 6.6% shot conversion rate exposes a key area for improvement.
With a full pre-season at Inter under his belt, Shaqiri has already passed fitness tests “with flying colours” according to his manager and could well be in contention for the weekend trip to Tottenham.
After that one, Stoke embark on a run of seven strong matches in the subsequent nine (nor, WBA, LEI, BOU, avl,WAT, new) before the schedule takes a real turn for the worse in Gameweek 12. If Shaqiri can settle quickly into his new surrounds, he certainly has the fixtures to immediately rival the likes of Andre Ayew and Dimitri Payet as a viable mid-price option for our five-man midfields.
Further Reference
Xherdan Shaqiri Wikipedia Page
