Hughes and Shaqiri back in Stoke talks

Stoke were interested in the talented Swiss global when he left Bayern Munich for Inter in January.

If Shaqiri does make the move to Stoke, he would become Hughes’ eighth signing of the summer following the additions of Jakob Haugaard, Philipp Wollscheid, Joselu, Marco van Ginkel, Shay Given, Glen Johnson and Ibrahim Afellay.

Xherdan Shaqiri has been spotted at the Britannia Stadium this afternoon, watching Stoke City take on Liverpool on the opening weekend of the Premier League season. If we can conclude something then we’ll be delighted.

Having claimed earlier in the window that Shaqiri stalling on talks had seen the move break down, it now looks as though Hughes could be willing to rekindle his interest. “We are hopeful we can do something but until we see players standing in front of the training ground with the shirt in their arms, we will have to see”. We’ve had a pre-season of chasing quality targets.

When asked if any deal would be permanent, Hughes said: “Yes”. “But these things are never easy”.

He said: “I hope so”. The referee has thought it was a yellow card for an elbow.

Shaqiri was present at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday as the Potters fell to a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool thanks to a stunning Philippe Coutinho strike in the dying stages. “If that is the case, he was fortunate not to get a red”.