West Ham ready to offer Stoke City star Premier League lifeline

West Ham ready to offer Stoke City star Premier League lifeline

West Ham United could be ready to offer Stoke City star Xherdan Shaqiri a way out of the bet365 Stadium this summer if the Potters are relegated at the end of the season.

Stoke currently sit 19th in the Premier League and five points adrift of safety with only four games to play.

And should Paul Lambert’s side face the drop come May, a number of the Potter’s biggest stars are expected to part ways with the club – none less so than Xherdan Shaqiri, who has been their stand-out performer in what’s been a dismal season.

The former Inter Milan and Bayern Munich star – who is Stoke’s top scorer with seven goals and six assists – has been vocal with his unhappiness at the club.



The Swiss caused a stir earlier in the season when he criticised both the club and the lack of quality players at the bet 365.

“The feeling that even a Ronaldinho could do little in this team is sobering,” he said.

“Here at Stoke I cannot exert too much influence, simply because there is a lack of quality around me.

“I had to realise that it’s a bit different when you have players like Ribéry and Thiago at Bayern or Icardi and Kovacic at Inter.

“I cannot just down tools but it would take something extreme for Stoke in the transfer market this summer to revive my enthusiasm.”

The words of a man destined to leave, and should he, he is unlikely to be short of offers.

Calciomercato report that West Ham, Everton and Crystal Palace will all offer Shaqiri a Premier League lifeline in the summer if the Potter’s are relegated, with all three keen to add the dynamic 26-year-old to their rosters.

Shaqiri is expected to command a fee of around £15 million, with the money used from his sale likely to be re-invested elsewhere to keep Stoke re-build their squad after a poor campaign.