Xherdan Shaqiri completes £12m move to Stoke City from Internazionale

Stoke’s ambitious transfer policy since the arrival of Mark Hughes at the Britannia Stadium resulted in another impressive coup on Tuesday when the club announced the signing of the Switzerland forward Xherdan Shaqiri from Internazionale for a club-record £12m.

Having already secured the winger Ibrahim Afellay – the fourth player to swap Barcelona for Stoke in the past two years – and a clutch of other proven internationals this summer, the 23-year-old dynamic forward has signed a five-year contract only months after moving to Italy from Bayern Munich.

Shaqiri, who began his career with Basel and moved to the Bundesliga in 2012 for around £8m, has been a long-term target for Hughes ever since he was deemed surplus to requirements by the Bayern manager, Pep Guardiola.

Stoke had all but given up on securing his services when he failed to agree a deal before a deadline to make a decision set by them last month but with Everton interested in taking him only on loan, Hughes has eventually got his man.

“He’s an explosive player who will bring something different to the group and at the age of 23 he still has a great deal of potential,” the manager said. “In the chats I’ve had with him it’s obvious that he’s excited about playing in the Premier League and showing what he’s capable of.”

A statement from the Stoke chief executive, Tony Scholes, added: “It’s no secret that we have been pursuing Xherdan for some time now and we are delighted to have finally secured his signature. He’s an exciting young player who is really looking forward to playing in the Premier League.

“Xherdan will be a fantastic addition to our squad and adds to the attacking options at the manager’s disposal.”

Born in Kosovo, Shaqiri moved to Switzerland at a young age and already has 46 caps for his adopted country. He was part of the Bayern side which won the treble in 2012-13 but found his opportunities at the Allianz Arena limited while he never really settled at Inter, scoring only once in 15 appearances.

source: theguardian