Manchester United and Xherdan Shaqiri: Could They be a Perfect Match?

In one of the least surprising stories of the season so far, it appears as though Bayern Munich's Swiss winger Xherdan Shaqiri will finally be granted his desired move away from the Bavarian giants this January with Manchester United and Liverpool likely suitors.

Nicholas Godden of the Daily Mail has reported Bayern Munich's club president Franz Beckenbauer has confirmed the club will allow the player to move in an interview conducted with German channel Sport1: "Bayern have already sent out a signal and indicated to him that he can probably go in the winter break, when he wants. I think it's a shame because he is a great talent."

The news of Shaqiri's impending exit from Bayern Munich will in all likelihood alert several of Europe's elite clubs, not least of which Manchester United and Liverpool with the Merseyside club having seen a bid for Shaqiri rejected prior to the World Cup in Brazil, as confirmed by the player himself and reported by Sky Sports.

"

Liverpool made a bid for me before the World Cup but Bayern put their foot down and told me, ‘We’re not going to sell you’.

My contract runs until 2016 and I could possibly extend it.

I will consider my decision during the winter break.

"

In terms of Manchester United's potential interest in Shaqiri, there are several question marks over whether the Swiss international would be a perfect fit at Old Trafford.

Having been on the radar of European football aficionados for a long time prior, Shaqiri first became of interest to Manchester United, and specifically supporters in the 2011-12 season, when FC Basel were unbeaten against United in two Champions League group matches on the way to United being demoted to the Europa League.

Shaqiri was the star performer of the FC Basel team and caused United's defence countless problems with it plain to see the player would soon be on the move.

Unfortunately for Shaqiri, the move to Bayern Munich has not been an unprecedented success with the Swiss star never truly able to nail down a spot in the first team on a regular basis, despite having now been at the club for just short of two-and-a-half seasons.

On paper, Shaqiri's list of achievements at Bayern are quite astonishing, with the 23-year-old having won two Bundesliga titles, a European Cup, two German cups and one FIFA Club World Championship, yet the player has been ready to move on for regular football for at least six months now.

As a player you have to question whether Shaqiri would fit in at Old Trafford at this point. One of his outstanding qualities is his ability to run at defenders with the ball at his feet. Shaqiri doesn't have the stereotypical build of a winger; he is stocky but uses this to his advantage by often bullying defenders, while at the same time making best use of his technical attributes.

At the World Cup, Shaqiri showed glimpses of quality in a struggling Switzerland team, but there was nothing really consistent about his performances and this is something that has to be a worry.

Manchester United do not boast a wealth of talent in wide areas. Angel Di Maria is an obvious world-class talent, although United have actually seen the best of him so far in a central-midfield role, Adnan Januzaj has a fantastic amount of potential with some elements of his game needing to be fine-tuned, but following those two, options are limited.

Ashley Young is a talented footballer but again struggles with consistency. Nani is another player who struggles for consistency, although he is performing fantastically on loan at Sporting Lisbon, and you have to question whether adding Shaqiri, another inconsistent performer, would be wise.

Of course, you can attribute a number of Shaqiri's struggles in this regard to a lack of regular playing time at Bayern Munich, but when you see players like Mario Gotze come into the club and settle near enough right away, there will undoubtedly be questions asked of Shaqiri.

Moving on to how he would fit in to Louis van Gaal's system at United, Shaqiri wouldn't necessarily be the best option. We have seen van Gaal utilise a 4-4-2 diamond formation, a 4-5-1 system and a 5-3-2 formation, all with differing degrees of success. While there is little backup behind Januzaj, there has in fact not been great call for wide players this season.

United have such a wealth of talent in midfield and up front, as surprising as that sounds given United's position little under a year ago, the club haven't needed any further wingers.

Of course, if United were to qualify for European competition next season, the squad would need to be strong in depth. However, given van Gaal's closeness to PSV Eindhoven's Memphis Depay, it is again difficult to see a January move for Shaqiri being a truly necessary one.

Finally there is a case of priority for Manchester United. Chief Executive Ed Woodward has already conveyed the unlikelihood United will move for short-term fixes in January, as stated by Simon Jones of the Daily Mail.

Of course, if an opportunity to strengthen United's defence arose, then the club would certainly look at it, but the feeling is the final pieces of the puzzle for van Gaal will be added next summer, in my opinion the key targets being Mats Hummels and Kevin Strootman. With this in mind there is unlikely to be any real call for an offensive addition in January with Shaqiri again not being high on United's list of priorities.

There can be no doubting Shaqiri's ability as a footballer; he has an outstanding skill set which when mixed with his physique becomes rather unique. However, at this time there are few logical reasons for United to target him.

He may well move on to another club and be a great success. At just 23 years old this is highly likely, but at this time it just simply wouldn't be in either party's interest for a deal to take Shaqiri to Old Trafford in January.