Stoke City completes signing of Xherdan Shaqiri for club-record fee of £12 million
It's official: Xherdan Shaqiri will take the pitch at Britannia Stadium.
Stoke City announced the signing of the Swiss attacking midfielder on Tuesday for a club-record fee of £12 million, ending both his time at Inter Milan and a transfer saga marred by reports of his being uninterested in a move to the Premier League.
BREAKING | City complete Club record £12m deal for Xherdan Shaqiri #WelcomeShaqiri #SCFC pic.twitter.com/YpTaFEHURU
— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) August 11, 2015
Shaqiri underwent a medical Monday before putting pen to paper on a five-year deal.
He joined Inter on loan from Bayern Munich in January after struggling to earn playing time at the Allianz Arena. It was believed that a move to the San Siro could revive his career, but when the transfer became permanent this summer, he was once again fighting for minutes despite performing well each time he was given an opportunity.
Xherdan Shaqiri scored a goal, played a key pass or recorded an assist once every 24.9mins for Inter in Serie A last season.
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) August 11, 2015
At Stoke, Shaqiri should finally have an opportunity to feature regularly and live up to the hype.
"I am very happy, and incredibly excited that this transfer to Stoke City has finally happened," Shaqiri said. "Over the past three days I have met great people at the club and witnessed the wonderful atmosphere at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday. That experience was overwhelming.
"My special thanks go to the manager, Mark Hughes, Chief Executive Tony Scholes and Mark Cartwright for their work in helping to make this deal happen over the past few months. I sincerely appreciate it so much, and will give my utmost to pay them and the supporters back on the pitch over the coming months and years.
"I can't wait to meet my new teammates and make my debut for the Club. It feels great to finally be a Potter."
Interestingly, there will now be five Champions League winners at Stoke this season, something that would have seemed unimaginable not too long ago.
The potential arrival of Shaqiri will mean that Stoke have 5 previous Champions League winners in their squad! #SSNHQ pic.twitter.com/r6f9DDZeFJ
— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) August 11, 2015
Matthew Etherington, who featured at Stoke for four-and-a-half seasons before announcing his retirement in 2014 due to a back injury, was among the first to congratulate the club on its historic signing.
"Huge credit to everyone [at Stoke City] on the signing of Shaqiri. Didn't think it would happen but what do I know! Massive signing for the club," he wrote on Twitter.