Whilst Stoke City have been enduring a far from ideal start to the Premier League season, there is one particular member of Mark Hughes’ squad that has been thriving despite his team’s struggles.

Expectations have perhaps weighed heavy on the shoulders of Xherdan Shaqiri since becoming Stoke’s club-record signing back in 2015 – largely due to his Champions League and treble-winning exploits at Bayern Munich – and for whatever reason he’s found consistency hard to come by in the Premier League.

Yet, whilst the Potters may find themselves at the wrong end of the table this season, just six points adrift of the relegation spots in 13th place, Shaqiri has shown that his raw talent from his days in Germany has not gone amiss.

If anything, he’s been the stand out player for Stoke so far this year.

The 26-year-old has shown all of the tenacious characteristics that were so effective at Bayern Munich, battling to make things happen in front of goal, and he’s been the one to lift his teammates.

He’s given a timely reminder of just how deadly he can be when counter-attacking, with his pace certainly not deserting him over the years, and he’s starting to add a clinical final product to his endeavours.

In 14 Premier League appearances he’s scored four times – equalling his best ever top-flight return already – and added five assists, and it’s fair to say that the Swiss international is currently in the midst of a purple patch of form after being directly involved in nine goals in his last 11 league games.

Since arriving from Inter Milan in 2015 everybody has known that he’s a top-quality player on his day, something that’s been enforced over the years by his influential performances for Switzerland.

It seems that, after an injury ravaged campaign last time out, he could be set to make a lasting impression on the Premier League once and for all – and it’s this that could make him a precious Draft Fantasy asset.

There is no doubting that Shaqiri’s confidence will be through the roof heading into a busy fixture schedule – not least because of his excellent solo goal in the defeat at Crystal Palace – and this was just a small glimpse that the 26-year-old still has the tendency to score some simply ridiculous goals when on top form.

It is by no means an over-exaggeration to say that Stoke would be in a mightily perilous position without Shaqiri’s impact this season; he’s currently their joint top goal-scorer with four goals and he has created twice as many chances (31) than any other Stoke player, with Darren Fletcher next in the list with 16.

This productivity makes the Swiss attacker a highly sought-after player for the course of December and early January, as it seems that whenever Stoke score he will be involved in some way.

It is worth considering Stoke’s upcoming opponents too, and with West Ham, West Brom, Huddersfield Town and Newcastle United all to play over the course of the next month – with three of these fixtures taking place at the bet365 Stadium – Shaqiri has the opportunity to fill his boots.

And based on his recent form for the Potters, it’d be a brave man to bet against him doing just that.