Hammers Chat

Shaqiri is reportedly available for £12 million (Stoke Sentinel), due to a clause in his contract.
Stats say he was the best player outside the top 6 last season

Snodgrass 10 million.!!! So if Shaqiri is available for 12 million for me it's a no brainer. Only sign players who will immediately get into the first team and improve it is my mantra, and, imo, he would.

No . He’s a moody overweight cunt that produces once every ten games .

Not sure on him in truth!
He seems one of these players who can look awesome one game and anonymous the next.It really does depend on his attitude and if he want to give it his all.
He undoubtedly has quality,but does he have the right mentality?
I am on the fence with Shaqiri,but if he wants too come I would take a punt,so yes!
I am not sure how many other game changers are out there,that we could sign.

JustLikeMyDreams wrote:Not sure on him in truth!
He seems one of these players who can look awesome one game and anonymous the next.It really does depend on his attitude and if he want to give it his all.
He undoubtedly has quality,but does he have the right mentality?
I am on the fence with Shaqiri,but if he wants too come I would take a punt,so yes!
I am not sure how many other game changers are out there,that we could sign.

This could have been a quote about Arnie before he signed. Well worth 12m in today's market.

8 goals and 7 assists in a crap team who only scored 35 all season.
£12m is naff all these days and he'd improve the depth and quality of the squad, if nothing else.
I'd prefer Anderson, but he is three times the price.

If we got him, we'd only have 3 mil left in our tea chest. But if we can get him on loan, then I'm all for it.

Shaqiri at £12 million is a good deal for a good player, but do we actually need him? This is the question I've heard asked by a few fans.

Well, it depends on what Pellegrini is looking to set up like, but by all accounts I've heard he favours a 4-3-3 formation some of the time, which would possibly work with Shaqiri, who's been described as a mirror image of Arnie except right-sided.

Despite some misplaced belief, Arnautovic didn't spend his time last season playing through the middle like a traditional forward, he still operated from the left.

The stats suggest that Moyes simply gave him permission to cut in as and when he saw fit, and more freedom to move around, but he's a left-sided player without doubt, and I think that Pellegrini fancies playing him up top with Hernandez.

Could we play a system with Arnie on the left with the freedom to cut in and drag defenders about, Hernendez in the middle as the traditional striker, and Shakiri on the right carrying out a similar role that Arnie does?

We could, and it would be incredibly exciting, and would rely on the 3 midfielders being incredibly disciplined and covering a lot of ground as none of the front three would be doing much tracking back. Where would Lanzini feature at that point?

I've also heard though that the manager favours a 4-4-1-1 formation, which wouldn't accommodate Shaqiri at all.

Need to wait and see I guess, but one thing I do know is that he's not a priority signing, he'd be a "good to have" rather than a "need to have" in my opinion.

If this were next season then I'd be more inclined to say he'd be worth a punt, but I think we should be spending what dough we do have on positions that need it more this season.

He'll likely end up at Everton in my opinion.

He'll go to Southampton anyway.

FlatCapDave wrote: We could, and it would be incredibly exciting, and would rely on the 3 midfielders being incredibly disciplined and covering a lot of ground as none of the front three would be doing much tracking back.

Which would present a major problem. Imo in today;s football you can afford one player who doesn't track back, but 3 of them would just lead to an overrun midfield and defence. Shaqiri is a talented little sod but can be somewhat lacking with the tracking. But I'd take a punt on him. Imo he would improve the team, never mind the squad, and that's what it's all about. And of course the coaching staff can get in his ear about doing the hard miles.

But we'll have to wait and see if MP agrees.