...AS KOP WANT SHAQIRI

XHERDAN SHAQIRI has been offered to Liverpool and Everton as his representatives look to find him a Premier League club. The Swiss winger was part of the Stoke City side relegated last season and has been clear about his plans to exercise a relegation release clause written into his contract with the Potters. The 26-year-old spent three years with Stoke in which they twice finished as a top-half team before last year’s capitulation. Southampton and West Ham are also aware of the wideman’s situation but know that Shaqiri would prefer to remain in the northwest to avoid moving homes. He may have little choice, with clubs on the continent baulking at his wage demands of over £100k per week. Neither Liverpool nor Everton would struggle to find the £12m fee needed to keep Shaqiri in the Premier League, so much will depend on the player’s ambitions and how he fits into the plans of the two clubs.

PANAMA’S HOPES DAMPENED

WORLD Cup-bound Panama saw their hopes of a morale-boosting pre-tournament win crumble after just four minutes in a 1-0 defeat to Norway yesterday. Panama will make their World Cup debut in Russia, where the central Americans will face England, Belgium and Tunisia in Group G. But Hernan Dario Gomez’s men will be hoping for an upturn in fortunes after this latest setback ahead of the June 14July 15 showpiece. At the Ulleval stadium in Oslo, Norway, who are not qualified for the World Cup, took a fourth-minute through Joshua King. Worryingly for Panama, the visitors struggled to create scoring chances, compounding a pre-World Cup preparation that produced draws with Wales (1-1) and Northern Ireland (0-0) and defeats to Iran (2-1), Denmark (1-0) and Switzerland (6-0).