Manchester United and Liverpool have been linked with a move for the Stoke City winger.
Stoke City’s Xherdan Shaqiri is a wanted man, according to a report from the Sun, with Manchester United and Liverpool leading the race for his signature, but which club would the Swiss ace be better suited to?
The 26-year-old joined the Potters from Inter Milan in the summer of 2015, for a fee believed to be worth in the region of £12 million, and despite receiving criticism from some quarters, he has proven himself to be a success at the BET 365 Stadium.
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Shaqiri has racked up 15 goals and 15 assists in 92 appearances in all competitions for Stoke – a decent return considering the poor quality that has surrounded him in the Potteries.
The diminutive winger would surely flourish if he moved to either United or Liverpool, but what which club would be his best option?
Manchester United
Jose Mourinho has plenty of options in the wide attacking department at Old Trafford, and Shaqiri would have to battle with the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Marcus Rashford for a place in the first-team.
The Swiss star would provide Mourinho with an outstanding alternative to Mata, however.
Like the Spaniard, Shaqiri is left-footed, and possesses incredible skill and trickery.
Whether he would be prepared to accept a bit part role at United, though, remains to be seen.
Liverpool
The Stoke man would face similar problems at Anfield.
Jürgen Klopp’s preference is to play with a front three, and it is hard to envisage a scenario where Shaqiri would be selected ahead of either Mohamed Salah or Sadio Mane on the wings.
He could, however, be deployed in a deep role by Klopp, in an effort to add more creativity and guile to Liverpool’s engine room.
In conclusion, he would be able to offer both clubs something that little bit different, but arguably not as a regular starter.
His style of play seems to be better suited to Mourinho’s more patient, meticulous build-up play at Old Trafford than it would be to Klopp’s high octane, direct system at Anfield.
Shaqiri has a reported buy-out clause of just £12.5 million, according to the Sun, and whichever club wins the race for his signature will surely secure themselves a real bargain this summer.
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