Which Winger Should Tottenham Sign?
Xherdan Shaqiri (23) – Inter Milan
What he’s done recently
For a player who spent last season with two different clubs (Bayern Munich and Inter Milan), the 23-year-old Swiss international managed to put up a good season. When compared to last year when he was just playing for Bayern Munich, they were about the same, more or less.
- ’13-’14 season: 27 apperances, 7 goals, 4 assists in all competitions
- ’14-’15 season: 35 appearances, 5 goals, 4 assists in all competitions
To get a better look at what Xherdan Shaqiri could bring to a club, his 2012-13 season is a good start. Three seasons ago Shaqiri put up a season which saw him make 39 appearances, 8 goals and 13 assists in all competitions.
Even though the Swiss international basically has the same amount of appearances and goals three years in a row, he was a better facilitator than these past two years. Somewhere along the way from the ’12-’13 season until now Xherdan Shaqiri either became a worse passer and couldn’t find people to link up with and score, or his teammates couldn’t put the ball into the back of the net.
In any event, Xherdan Shaqiri is still a talented player to have and he should continue to improve. Unless of course he hit his peak three years ago.
How would he fit with Tottenham
There are no direct comparisons between Érik Lamela and Xherdan Shaqiri other than playing on the right wing/midfield position and being the same age (23).
If Tottenham were to get Xherdan Shaqiri it could be a good move or a bad move. It’ll only work if Lamela is still on the squad as he’s now getting used to the style of the Premier League after coming over from Serie A — not to mention being healthy after missing half of his debut season due to injury.
In terms of Tottenham getting a bad deal by signing Shaqiri, that is possible if Lamela gets sold. Because the Argentinian winger took a year to get accustomed to the Premier League — by default due to injury of course — the same will be said for the Swiss international who is coming over from Serie A.
Both players never played in the top flight of English football and one of them had to learn on the fly. Xherdan Shaqiri will go through the same thing.
Can Tottenham afford him
After having their £12 million bid accepted, Stoke City were on the verge of signing Xherdan Shaqiri. Unfortunately something happened along the way and negotiations broke down. The Sentinel shed some light on this.
The basic gist is, the Potters had a time frame to get things done, which isn’t surprising, and because Xherdan Shaqiri couldn’t commit, Stoke had to move on.
If Tottenham were to send out the exact same bid of £12 million to sign Shaqiri, it could be completed or it might not. Both clubs can agree to terms, but the player has to be on board as well. Xherdan Shaqiri is one example, Benjamin Stambouli is a more recent example. Spurs and Watford agreed on a transfer, Stambouli couldn’t agree on terms, then PSG hijacked the deal.
Because the Swiss international recently joined Inter Milan he might not be open to moving again. However, if Shaqiri does poorly or Inter are intent on selling him immediately, this could happen in January when the winter transfer window opens.
Next: Andriy Yarmolenko