Xherdan Shaqiri will surely leave Stoke City if they’re relegated from the Premier League and Everton are circling already.
Relegation will hit Stoke City hard. Despite a creditable draw at Liverpool on Saturday, Paul Lambert’s Potters are still three points from safety with two games to go and staring the drop in the face.
And, according to The Mail, Stoke will bid farewell to the vast majority of their key players should their 10-year stay in the Premier League come to an end next month. It is understood that goalkeeper Jack Butland and £14 million January signing Badou N’Diaye will lead the exodus, with Eric-Maxim Choupo Moting and Joe Allen unlikely to be too far behind.
And, having been linked with a number of top flight sides already, The Mail adds that Swiss international winger Xherdan Shaqiri will be another highly-anticipated departure from the Bet 365 Stadium.
Shaqiri has underwhelmed at times in Stoke colours since joining from Inter Milan back in 2015 but has real natural ability and the potential to play at a much higher level, which perhaps explains why Everton are interested this summer, according to Calciomercato.
And The Sun believes that Shaqiri will be on the market for a fee of around £20 million this summer. That would mean Stoke would make a £12 million profit on the former Bayern Munich winger, which is hardly a bad deal considering he has scored a decent yet not fantastic seven goals this season while setting up a further six.
But a sluggish, predictable Everton side need a player like Shaqiri who possesses pace, ambition and unpredictability – as demonstrated with his wonderful lobbed finish at Goodison Park back in December 2015 when Stoke edged a 4-3 thriller.
So a £20 million move would give The Toffees’ attack a new dimension.
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