Southampton boss Mark Hughes is keen to go back to his old club to lure talisman Xherdan Shaqiri to St Mary’s.
Mark Hughes may currently be set to only take charge of Southampton for the rest of the season, but the Daily Express has suggested that he is already making plans for the summer by plotting a club-record move for Stoke City magician Xherdan Shaqiri.
Hughes was appointed at St Mary’s earlier in the month and has got off to a promising start by helping the Saints book their place in the FA Cup semi-final at the weekend. The Express reports that his deal is set to expire in the summer, but keeping Southampton up in the Premier League will see the Welshman earn an extension.
And if he earns an extended stay, he plans to raid his old club to try and sign Shaqiri in a £20 million deal if the Potters are relegated, the Express suggests.
Like the Saints, Paul Lambert’s men currently find themselves in the bottom three, but sit one point further adrift of safety having won once since the turn of the year.
Potential £20m bargain?
While Shaqiri is in serious danger of having a relegation added to his CV, he is one of the players who you would expect to be the first to be able to land a move away if Stoke do end up going down.
The Swiss has scored seven goals and provided six assists for the Potters, and those stats would not only leave him as Southampton’s top goalscorer in the top flight, but he would also have double the number of assists that their top performers in that area – Dusan Tadic, Nathan Redmond and Ryan Bertrand – all have.
Shaqiri is one of the most naturally-talented players currently not playing for one of the division’s heavyweights, so it would undoubtedly be a coup for Saints if they stayed up this term and managed to get the playmaker in at St Mary’s over the summer – and the fact that £19.2 million Guido Carrillo would no longer their record signing would also be a plus at this stage.
The blueprint looks good for Southampton, but Hughes now needs to ensure that the plans can be put into action by keeping the side in the top flight.
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