Report: Stoke City agrees to club-record fee with Inter for Shaqiri; winger disinterested in move
Stoke City are close to pulling off one of the biggest surprises of the summer after agreeing to a record transfer fee for midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri.
The Premier League club has agreed to pay Inter Milan £12 million for the Switzerland international, according to Sky Sports.
The agreement, ultimately, is up to Shaqiri and whether he accepts a move to the Premier League squad. As multiple outlets have noted, that's far from a guarantee at this point.
Xherdan Shaqiri deal to Stoke not as advanced as reported in some quarters. Player has yet to agree terms/make up his mind.
— Raphael Honigstein (@honigstein) July 1, 2015
John Percy of The Telegraph echoes those sentiments:
However, the early signs are that Shaqiri is not interested in a move to the Premier League and may decide to stick it out with Inter. Stoke are not giving up on the deal though they accept it will take significant negotiating to secure his signature.
Should the Potters convince the Swiss winger to make the move, it would become the most expensive deal in club history. Peter Crouch had been the team's most lucrative signing, as Stoke paid Tottenham £10 million for him in 2011.
Stoke attempted to sign the former Bayern Munich player during the January transfer window until Shaqiri opted to sign a four-year deal with Inter for a transfer fee believed to be worth £16 million.
Shaqiri had a miserable time in Italy, however, managing to start only eight Serie A matches with one goal to his name.
His potential arrival at the Britannia Stadium would be quite the capture for Stoke. Shaqiri's presence should improve the midfield and his killer instinct around the box will create havoc for opposing defenders.