Stoke City are prepared to listen to offers for Xherdan Shaqiri in the summer, according to the Stoke Sentinel.

The winger has struggled during his second season at the Bet365 Stadium and has made just 15 appearances in all competitions this term, scoring three goals.

The Potters are not actively looking to sell to Switzerland international but are well aware that a host of European clubs are tracking the player’s progress.

Stoke will attempt to recoup the then club record figure they spent on Shaqiri if they do decide to part with the player halfway through his five-year contract.

False dawns

Stoke paid Italian giants Inter Milan £12m for the services of Xherdan Shaqiri in the summer of 2015 to the delight of most supporters.

The 25-year-old was once one of the great young prospects in European football but failed to live up to his potential at both Germany with Bayern Munich and Italy with Inter Milan. The move to England, in an attempt to ignite his career, looked a good one for both parties.

The talented forward was just one of a number of exciting signings made by Mark Hughes as the Staffordshire outfit looked to change their reputation from long-ball specialists to purists. Shaqiri’s pace, power and technique looked to epitomise this transition.

Performances against both Manchester clubs last season, a memorable goal away to Everton and a free-kick against Middlesbrough on the opening day - not to mention his wonder-goal for Switzerland at the European Championships - have all shown glimpses of his promise.

Each have proved to be false dawns in his short career in the Premier League with consistency and injuries proving difficult for the Swiss. Shaqiri missed six of the first seven games of the season through injury and has more recently missed the last seven league outings with a calf problem.

Hughes frustrated by fitness problems

Shaqiri has not played for his club side since January and an already concerned Mark Hughes expressed his opinion regarding his player’s fitness to the media last week.

The Welshman said Shaqiri will ‘get these kind of injuries’ due to his ‘natural body shape’ and the fact that he ‘goes from a standing start to explosive movement’ very quickly.

Shaqiri and Hughes at Old Trafford. Source - Getty Images/Richard Heathcote.
Shaqiri and Hughes at Old Trafford. Source - Getty Images/Richard Heathcote.

Hughes said the injuries are just something they ‘have to accept to a certain point’ before admitting that there is an element of ‘bad luck’ involved.

The Stoke boss went on to express that there is a little frustration, especially because ‘he was really getting to grips with the Premier League’ at one point in the season and was managing to ‘affect games’ that he played in.

Shaqiri might be fit in time for Leicester match

Shaqiri is currently training with his international team-mates ahead of Switzerland’s World Cup qualifier against Latvia at the Stade de Geneve on Saturday evening.

Rossocrociati are currently three points clear of European champions Portugal in Group B and the country’s talisman seemed in good mood after netting three emphatic volleys during a training session.

If given the nod by manager Vladimir Petkovic then it is possible that Shaqiri could be fit enough to return to Stoke’s squad for the trip to Leicester City.

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About the author
Conor de Smith
Trying to make it in journalism. Contributing to VAVEL since July 2013.