Inter Milan agree deal to sign Xherdan Shaqiri

Inter's official TV channel confirmed that a "total agreement" has been reached with Bayern over the player, with "only the signatures yet to come".

The Italian press reports that Shaqiri accepted a pay cut in order to move to the Italian side rather than end up on Merseyside.

Furthermore, he reportedly refused point blank to agree a transfer to Liverpool - and cost Bayern Munich €5 million as he did so.

Gianluca Di Marzio’s website claims that Liverpool offered €20m for the Switzerland international winger, with Inter Milan only going as high as €15m - a deal which is initially a loan, with an option to buy in the summer.

But Shaqiri was said to be so determined to move to Inter he put pressure on the club to accept the Beneamata’s offer.

This made Inter’s bargaining position stronger as the Italian club's representative Marco Fassone met with Bayern’s hierarchy in Germany on Thursday, and a deal has now reportedly been sealed pending a medical and official confirmation.

The stocky 23-year-old, who joined Bayern in 2012, will undergo a medical in Italy on Friday before signing the deal, Bayern said.

Bayern also said they had loaned out talented 19-year-old midfielder Pierre Hojbjerg to Augsburg until the end of the season to gain match practice while also extending the Danish international's contract by two years to 2018.

Despite some good spells, Shaqiri has failed to hold down a regular starting spot under coach Pep Guardiola and had repeatedly hinted at leaving in the transfer window.

He made three starts in 17 league games this season and has scored a total of 11 league goals in 52 Bundesliga appearances for the Bavarians.

"Inter and FC Bayern agree terms for Shaqiri. Just the paperwork to be signed," the club said on Twitter.

There were no details regarding the length of his contract with the 2010 Champions League winners, who have also signed Germany international Lukas Podolski in recent days.

Hojbjerg, Bayern's youngest ever Bundesliga player, making his debut at age 17 in 2013, has played only 17 league games since joining from Brondby in 2012, including eight in the current campaign.

The move marks Inter’s second foray into the transfer market, with Lukas Podolski also joining on a loan deal from Arsenal.

Inter's gain is Liverpool's loss, and even though Shaqiri has struggled to get on the pitch at Bayern he has consistently shown for Switzerland that he has huge quality. This seems like another major blow to the Reds, who keep on missing out on transfer targets. We saw for years how their failure to finish in the top four cost them the chance of landing the best players, and it looks like the same has happened once again. With Steven Gerrard leaving in the summer, any remaining prestige once attached to the club's name seems to be fading faster than ever.

Shaqiri is a really strong – and still young – player, who is able to make his way even at Bayern, there is no question about it. His only “problem” in Munich is the extraordinary performance of Arjen Robben that has prevented Shaqiri from becoming a starter and an indispensable part of Pep Guardiola’s team. When he came on the pitch, he always performs well.

This move makes sense for Shaqiri as he is likely to play a more important role at Inter. But for Bayern it is dangerous to let him go – especially if Robben gets injured again. Then the team will certainly miss Shaqiri’s quality and fighting spirit.

We think Shaqiri is a wonderful player. In November 2011 we wrote an article about his qualities: "Why we should buy Neymar for 60 millions if we can buy Shaqiri for 20?” (ITALIAN). He could revitalize himself with this new adventure and find a stable place in a team that extremely needs players like him.

Buying discarded players from Premier League or Bundesliga isn't necessarily a shame for Italian teams - it is clear to all those who follow the European football that the level of Italian football is very low at the moment - and a player that doesn’t find a role in one of the best clubs in the world can become a useful player for a club that is in trouble (Inter are in the bottom half of the table and playing in the Europa League).