Xherdan Shaqiri, Stoke City’s top scorer last season, has officially confirmed that he’ll be leaving the now relegated Potters this summer. In an interview with Swiss outlet Aargauer Zeitung, the stellar winger made it known that will not be playing football in England’s second-tier next year.
He also expressed his desire to stay in the England, but with a Premier League team, as he does not want to ply his trade in the Championship come 2018-19. Now it’s just a matter of speculating on where that will be, and there are lots of football betting odds out there in regards to the transfer market; as summer transfer window action is always high.
“Yes, of course. It is no secret that I will leave the club. I would love to stay in England, I think the league is perfect for me,” said the Swiss international currently preparing for the World Cup in Russia.
“It’s the best league with the best players, but I do not want to exclude anything. Everyone wants to compete with the best, that was one reason why I chose the Premier League. And that’s why I want to take the next step now.”
In past summer transfer windows, Shaqiri has been linked to several of the biggest clubs, including Manchester United and Liverpool. This time around, he’s been linked to West Ham United, Everton and today two more clubs who seem to the be front-runners to acquire his services- Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton.
Writes The Guardian: “Southampton don’t fancy another relegation scrape, and will sign rare Stoke City success story Xherdan Shaqiri for £12m … unless Tottenham Hotspur nip in first.”
It’s getting more likelier by the day that his new club won’t be settled until after the World Cup, so expect transfer talk surrounding the 26-year-old to continue on for awhile.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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