Stoke City attacker Xherdan Shaqiri has hinted that he could leave the club in search of Champions League football "in the near future".

Shaqiri's arrival at the bet365 Stadium was considered something of a coup for Stoke, and the Switzerland international has helped the team overcome a slow start to the season to climb up to ninth in the table.

However, the 25-year-old is confident that he will not be a Stoke player forever, despite currently being happy at the club.

"At 25, it would be silly to say that I want to end my career at Stoke," he is quoted as saying by The Mirror.

"At the moment I feel very comfortable. I have scored three goals as many as in the whole of last season.

"Stoke: super coach, super team, ninth in the Premier League. But of course I want to play Champions League again in the near future."

Stoke have lost just one league game in which Shaqiri has featured this season.