United may have missed out on Basel midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri, but the latest is that Old Trafford scouts are watching fellow Swiss star Xhaka. Who is he?
1) Xhaka was born in Yugoslavia and is of Albanian descent, but his family moved to Switzerland when he was young and he plays for the Swiss national team.
2) He is a six foot midfielder who has played 30 times for FC Basel, despite being only 19 years old. He played against United to knock them out of the Champions League group stages earlier this season.
3) Xhaka made his international debut against England in the 2-2 draw at Wembley in June. Later in the year he scored the winning 1-0 goal to gain the team three points against Luxembourg.
4) His brother Taulant Xhaka, 20, is also a professional footballer for Basel, who is currently out on loan at Grasshoppers Zurich.
5) He participated in the 2009 under-17 World Cup, which Switzerland won. The side was captained by Manchester United new boy Frederic Veseli.
Should United continue their pursuit of Xhaka?
image: © _becaro_
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