West Ham have been linked with yet another Stoke City player, despite The Potters’ relegation from the Premier League last season.
Ryan Shawcross really didn’t deserve to be the man who’s mistake condemned Stoke City to relegation.
The long-serving skipper has been an almost ever-present during The Potters ten years in the Premier League. But it was he who diverted the ball to a gleeful Patrick van Aanholt during that 2-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace in May which meant Championship football at Stoke for the first time since 2008.
Though Shawcross could still be offered the chance to jump ship along with a number of his team-mates this summer.
The Mail (live blog, 12.08pm) reports that West Ham United have shown an interest in Shawcross after previous links with fellow Potters stars Jack Butland, Xherdan Shaqiri and Joe Allen.
West Ham are in the market for a centre-back after James Collins was released at the end of the season and while fans might be underwhelmed by links to the former Manchester United youngster, it is worth remembering that Shawcross has been one of the top English defenders over the last few seasons.
He would offer plenty of experience at the back alongside either Winston Reid or Angelo Ogbonna, while perhaps acting as a mentor to the promising Declan Rice.
It seems unlikely that Stoke would be willing to listen to offers for Shawcross however with the one-time England international, who has played almost 400 games for the club, a key man both on and off the pitch.
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