The transfer circus that surrounds Switzerland winger Xherdan Shaqiri is a merry-go-round on steroids. Xherdan was supposed to leave Bayern at the start of the season after a good performance at the World Cup but he stayed back in hope of more playing time, now Bayern president, Franz Beckenbauer has stated that Shaqiri is free to leave Bayern in the January transfer window.
The 23 year old would be available in the range of £15-20 million from the Bavarian giants and has been linked with a host of clubs. There are 3 English clubs who are in the running to sign the Swiss sensation with Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United linked to sign the star.
Liverpool were heavily linked with the Swiss superstar in the last transfer window but ultimately failed to sign the Bayern winger, now with a season crumbling and fans losing patience with the team, signing Shaqiri would not be the worst option, especially during a transfer window where you don’t normally get World class stars available as easily.
Red or Blue?
The fact that 3 of the top clubs in England are after the Swiz Wiz should be enough to prove just how great an addition the Swiss winger would be for any club. The number of games he has played for Bayern would not be as high as one would expect, with the likes of Ribery and Robben ahead of him, Shaqiri has seen his game time reduce at Bayern.
In his first season, he played 26 games in the league, then in the 2013-14 season he appeared in only 17 games and this season he has played in only 8 games and has scored only 11 times in the league in his 3 seasons at Bayern.
To continue growing, he needs to play regularly and this is as perfect a time to move to another club.
Out of the 3 clubs mentioned, Liverpool and Manchester United are the ones who need an attacker the most, especially Liverpool. Shaqiri loves cutting in from the wing and has a wicked shooting foot, his pace and dribbling are other facets of his game which are his best qualities, of course there are a couple of issues, he does not like tracking back and is not the best defensively either but being such a good attacker makes up for that.
Chelsea already have a brilliant squad and Shaqiri moving to the Blues would be a similar situation when he moved to Bayern, this Chelsea team is also filled with many stars and getting permanent game time ahead of the likes of Hazard, Oscar and Willian would be really hard for the Swiss. Salah had signed for Chelsea a season back and has hardly featured for the club.
So that leaves out the two Red clubs, two rivals but only one would get the Swiss star. Manchester United are in a transition phase under Louis Van Gaal and are slowly rebuilding, especially after their win against Arsenal, they will feel like they can qualify for the Champions League, the minimum target this season but getting Shaqiri is not the best option for United when they need to fix their defence.
United already have the likes of Mata, Rooney, Falcao, Di Maria and Van Persie to give them impetus in attack and signing Shaqiri would make them top heavy without having a good base, the defence.
Merseyside calling
Liverpool are in dire need of a player who is willing to not only create chances at the top end but also provide movement which has been missing ever since the much talked about departure of a certain Luis Suarez.
The Daniel Sturridge injury hasn’t helped Liverpool in any way and with news that his injury may be hereditary, that just doesn’t bode well for the Anfield club. Liverpool already have a team but they don’t have that attacking outlet like last season, wingers Lazar Markovic and Adam Lallana still need time to gel in while Raheem Sterling really needs a rest. Shaqiri coming into the squad would not only ensure that quality that has been lacking at Liverpool but it would ensure that he would get games constantly to make him better and hopefully revitalize Liverpool’s season.