Stoke manager Mark Hughes insists Xherdan Shaqiri will not be leaving the club in the near future.
The Potters broke their club transfer record to sign Shaqiri when they paid out £12m to land him from Inter in 2015 and the attacking midfielder has been one of their best players when fully fit.
Shaqiri still has four years left to run on his existing deal with Stoke but his future at the club was thrown into doubt after his agent refused to rule out a return to Serie A.
“I’ve heard about the speculation but that’s all it is – speculation,” Hughes told The Daily Mirror, via FourFourTwo. “There was a throw-away comment from his brother and it was jumped upon by some people who thought there was something afoot.
“But that isn’t the case. Shaq is moving into a new property at the moment, so that would suggest he’s happy here and settled. Take it from me, he isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon.
“He was our record signing and there was pressure and expectation on him. Sometimes that can be difficult and I think that was what he struggled with a bit. But he has come back having had a really good effect at Euros – and it looks like the switch has been flicked.
“He has really got to grips with the Premier League and we are going to benefit from that.”
In just five Premier League appearances this season Shaqiri has already scored as many goals as he managed in 27 games last season (3). Not only that, but his WhoScored rating (7.51) has shot up significantly (6.82) and he has scored all three of his goals from outside the box – a league high.
For more stats on Xherdan Shaqiri, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
