Skip to main content

Stoke City winger Xherdan Shaqiri has admitted he would prefer to stay on the 'biggest stage' and remain in the Premier League after the Potters were relegated last season.

The 26-year-old winger has been representing his native Switzerland at the World Cup this summer, with the Rossocrociati suffering elimination from the competition on Tuesday after a 1-0 defeat to Sweden in the last 16.

sweden-v-switzerland-round-of-16-2018-fifa-world-cup-russia-5b3ded33347a021081000002.jpg

And with his performances on the global stage catching the eye in Russia, Shaqiri now seems increasingly unlikely to remain at Stoke this summer.

"At the moment, I can't say anything. You are going to hear soon on my future," said Shaqiri (via FourFourTwo).

swansea-city-v-stoke-city-premier-league-5b3ded5a3467aceb44000011.jpg

"I was not thinking about this because I was just focused on my national team and wanted to make a good tournament for my team and my nation. It's pretty normal to be aware of clubs being interested.

"I don't know, it's not dependant on me sometimes. Of course, I would like to play on the biggest stage in football. Everybody knows that.

"I hope I can stay in the Premier League. I hope so, you never know with football. I don't rule out anything."

Shaqiri came through the ranks at Swiss giants FC Basel before joining Bayern Munich in 2012. The winger went on to play for Internazionale before joining Stoke in the summer of 2015.

Having made his debut for the Swiss national side in 2010, Shaqiri has gone on to make 74 appearances for his country, scoring 21 goals in the process.