10 Relegated Players Who Deserve To Play In Premier League Next Season

With a new Premier League season only a few weeks away, clubs up and down the country are eyeing up potential transfer targets to improve their squads and give themselves a better chance of having successful seasons, and players with the three promoted clubs - Fulham, Cardiff City, and Wolverhampton Wanderers - are looking forward to testing themselves against the best teams in the land.

For players of Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, and Swansea City, however, the future is looking a little bleaker. Last season, they were going up against world class players in the biggest stadiums and most exciting matches. This year, they'll have to tackle the Championship, one of the toughest and most competitive leagues of them all.

Plenty of players enjoy the challenge of the English second division and it's a great league to watch, but some of the relegated players must already be missing the top flight. So far this summer, we've seen Stoke's Xherdan Shaqiri jump ship and head off to Anfield, and it wouldn't be surprising to see a few more relegated players leave their clubs in a bid to keep on playing in the Premier League.

Calls were once made for Ryan Shawcross to become an integral part of the England national team setup, such was his reputation and ability. The Manchester United youth graduate did earn his one and only England cap back in 2012 in a friendly with Sweden in which Zlatan Ibrahimović scored a hat-trick.

After that, his international career didn't quite take off, but Shawcross continued to be a solid, dependable presence at the back for Stoke City. Captain of the side for many years, the 30-year-old has been involved in his share of controversy, notably when he broke Aaron Ramsey's leg back in 2010, but has matured as a player in recent years.

Still tough but fair in his challenges, Shawcross has become much more disciplined and only picked up two yellow cards in the entirety of last season, during which he was by far one of Stoke's best defenders.

After spending so long with the club, it's likely that fan favourite Shawcross will stick around and try to help Stoke get back into the Premier League, but he's a talented and experienced defender who could prove an asset to plenty of Premier League sides, should they choose to show an interest in him.