Should West Ham gamble on Stoke City’s Shaqiri?
When good players get relegated from the Premier League there’s a lot of clubs on alert. West Ham are reportedly interested in picking up Stoke’s Shaqiri on a cut price deal.
Stoke were relegated this season after a season that just failed to get going. Despite spending fairly heavily over the past few years the new signings have not performed, leading players like Xerdan Shaqiri to fall into the Championship. Obviously he doesn’t want to play at that level, and West Ham might try and help him out there.
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It’s the same thing every time a side gets relegated, their best players tend to disappear. It’s happened to us before, and it will happen to any team that goes down. Shaqiri has already stated he wants to move, and that the Premier League is where he wants to stay. So why shouldn’t the Hammers be interested? And why hasn’t someone else picked him up already?
The man who wants out
Well I’ve already answered the usual first question, because the player does want a move. Would he move to us? No offence to Stoke but if he’s happy playing for them he should be happy with a move to the Hammers, we’re certainly not a step down. Given Pellegrini’s recent appointment as well it’s an exciting time to join, so there wouldn’t be an issue there.
For me it’s whether Pellegrini will want to add a player who, although spectacular when at his best, does not bring his best out particularly often. The inconsistency is part of the reason for Stoke’s struggles, because they couldn’t get results out of him often enough. With 8 goals and 7 assists he does chip in, but the mind-boggling long range goals and volleys often cloud reality that he isn’t, according to the stats, a great finisher.
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Shaqiri would reportedly be available for around 12m, which isn’t a bad price at all for someone who played a part in 15 EPL goals last season. If Pellegrini wants him then we should pay the release clause and be done with it. However I’m not sure he’s good enough to shoehorn into the side if the manager isn’t sure.