Stoke City rule out Xherdan Shaqiri sale

Stoke City have no plans of offloading Swiss midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri despite the impending interest from AS Roma. The Giallorossi have identified the 25-year-old as a potential replacement for Mohamed Salah.

Salah joined Premier League club Liverpool on a five-year deal earlier yesterday, and the Capital outfit are now on the search for a recruit to fill the void.

Shaqiri has now sparked with the Potters as he often does with the national team, but chairman Peter Coates has ruled out the player's exit by suggesting that he is happy at the bet365 Stadium.

"There are no plans to sell him," he told the Stoke Sentinel. "He seems very settled with us and towards the end of the season he came back (from injury) and did well."

Shaqiri has managed just seven goals in an injury-plagued career at Staffordshire, but the club remain confident of getting him to his old self ahead of the 2017/18 season.

Stoke City have already strengthened their squad for the new campaign with the Bosman signing of Darren Fletcher from West Bromwich Albion.