West Ham Opinion: Why West Ham should revive interest in Xherdan Shaqiri
According to a report from the Metro, Liverpool could offload Xherdan Shaqiri this summer after just a year at Anfield.
The Switzerland international, 27, joined the Reds in a bargain £13 million deal from Stoke City last summer but after a promising start, he lost his way at the club. The 27-year-old has only scored six times and assisted five goals in 30 appearances in all competitions in his debut season at Anfield.
The report claims Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is looking for someone to apply more pressure on his favoured front three and thus wants to replace Xherdan Shaqiri with Villarreal starlet Samuel Chukwueze this summer.
That should prompt West Ham to revive their interest in Shaqiri and sign him ahead of the next season’s start.
West Ham finished in the top 10 this season after a strong end to the campaign, but need reinforcements to really push for Europe next season. One area Pellegrini should put special emphasis while addressing in the summer should be the attacking department.
The Hammers lacked creativity and flair to carve open defences at times this past season. Felipe Anderson was the only consistent performer, chiefly being West Ham’s biggest threat going forward. Although Robert Snodgrass and Michail Antonio came up with the goods, the invention from midfield was very less.
That’s why signing a player like Xherdan Shaqiri would make sense for West Ham. The Hammers were interested in signing the Swiss star from Stoke last summer, but he rejected a move and went on to sign for Liverpool. He has not been very consistent at Liverpool, but the 27-year-old has shown on more than one occasion what he is capable of in the Premier League.
The Switzerland international possesses good pace, skills, dribbling qualities and creativity with which he can carve open defences. Shaqiri’s final delivery into the box is also decent, but what will temp Pellegrini into making a bid for him is his versatility of playing in the attack and the midfield.
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Also, the diminutive playmaker has a wealth of experience of playing at the very highest level, and that could prove to be invaluable for West Ham next season. The former Bayern Munich and Inter Milan man could be a smart signing to challenge with Felipe Anderson and Manuel Lanzini, adding competition without breaking the bank.
Verdict
West Ham will be aiming to break into the top six of the Premier League next season, and a player of the Shaqiri’s quality, calibre and experience in the team would only enhance their chances of achieving that objective.
