Alan Hudson has made an ambitious claim that Xherdan Shaqiri can inspire Stoke City to the Champions League.

The arrival of Swiss winger Shaqiri has raised the level of expectation at Stoke and this fact can be typified by club legend Hudson's claims that the Potters now stand a great chance of finishing in the top four or five.

Hudson believes that former Bayern Munich and Inter Milan attacker Shaqiri adds potency to the Stoke forward line and insisted that the Potters have a chance of sneaking into the top four ahead of the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool.

Hudson told the Stoke Sentinel: "Someone who can score or contribute to others scoring 10 to 15 goals-a-season can be the difference between finishing fourth or finishing ninth and tenth.

"I know people will raise their eyebrows at Stoke being mentioned with the top four, but Manchester United are still not that great and we all saw Liverpool weren't that great either at the weekend.

"Stoke have dug deep into their pockets for this signing and I really do believe that the Champions League is not that impossible."