According to reports in the Daily Star, new Southampton manager Mark Hughes is lining up a £20m summer bid for Stoke City playmaker Xherdan Shaqiri, who earns £65,000-a-week according to The Mirror, but the move depends on a number of factors.

Firstly, the 26-year-old may only depart the Britannia Stadium if the Potters suffer relegation to the Championship – they currently lie in 19th position three points below 17th-placed West Ham United – while the 18th-placed Saints will only make a club-record move for the Switzerland international if they retain their Premier League status, according to the Daily Star.

In addition, Hughes isn’t guaranteed to still be with the south coast outfit next term given his contract only runs until the end of the campaign, with a potentially season-defining clash against the Irons at the London Stadium on March 31 to come.

Meanwhile, David Moyes’ men are in danger of slipping into the danger zone following three successive defeats by a three-goal margin, but that won’t have stopped the Scottish boss making plans for the future if they do remain in the top flight.

The east London outfit are the best performing side in terms of goalscoring in the bottom nine clubs in the Premier League this season, but it doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t add to their attacking options over the summer.

Here are three reasons West Ham must hijack Southampton’s potential summer bid for Shaqiri…

While Stoke are struggling in 19th position in the Premier League and in real danger of being relegated to the Championship, Shaqiri has still been one of their best and most consistent performers.

The 26-year-old has scored seven goals and provided a further six assists in 29 top flight appearances this season – as well as making 65 key passes – and the fact that he has scored a hat-trick at a World Cup and played for Bayern Munich and Inter Milan previously show the talent he has in his locker.

Shaqiri is a fans’ favourite at the Britannia Stadium because of the ability he has on the ball, and there is no reason why he wouldn’t follow in the footsteps of Marko Arnautovic in being lauded by Irons supporters if he also made the move from Staffordshire to the London Stadium.

The 26-year-old has become a talisman for the Potters since joining them in 2015 – much like Arnautovic has for the Hammers since David Moyes took charge in November – and his passion and quality on the pitch would mean that he would be admired by the supporters.

If West Ham do stay up this season and Moyes remains in charge, he will be looking to add some real quality to his squad during the summer to ensure they don’t find themselves in a similar situation again next term.

Of course, bringing really good players to the club won’t be cheap, and the opportunity to potentially bring a player with the ability that Shaqiri has to the London Stadium for just £20m would be an opportunity that would be too good to miss, even if the club’s attacking options are pretty strong right now with the likes of Arnautovic, Manuel Lanzini, Michail Antonio – and potentially Joao Mario too after the loanee hinted he wants to stay.

Do you agree, Irons fans? Let us know below.