Arnautovic wants Champions League football

Stoke City could face a battle to keep Marko Arnautovic after the Austria international expressed his desire to play in the Champions League.

Arnautovic enjoyed his best season in the Premier League in 2015-16 as he formed part of an attacking trio with Bojan and Xherdan Shaqiri.

The 27-year-old, who moved to the Britannia Stadium in 2013, scored 11 times for Mark Hughes' side in a campaign that saw Stoke finish ninth.

Arnautovi, who has one year left on his deal, has been linked with Paris Saint-Germain, the Ligue 1 club reportedly keen to take advantage of an apparent £12.5million release clause.

And a move to the French champions would help Arnautovic achieve his dream of playing in Europe's elite club competition.

"I hope of course it [playing in the Champions League] will happen again," he is quoted as telling the Stoke Sentinel.

"Every footballer wants to play in the Champions League because it is the best there is, it's that simple.

"I hope I will succeed in the near future."