BREAKING NEWS: Stoke smash transfer record to sign Giannelli Imbula

Jamie Clark, Sports Editor | February 1, 2016

Stoke City have broken their transfer record to sign Belgian-born former France Under-21 midfielder Giannelli Imbula from Porto for a reported £18.3m.

Eclipsing their previous highest outlay of £12m for Switzerland wideman Xherdan Shaqiri, 23-year-old anchorman Imbula joins the Potters on a five-and-a-half year contract.

#scfc delighted to confirm the signing of Giannelli Imbula from Porto for £18.3m – https://t.co/lkLqlVUn9F pic.twitter.com/8B5LvfdzGN

— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) February 1, 2016

Stoke boss Mark Hughes said of the Imbula deal: “Giannelli is a good young player. He has great power, good ability on the ball and a great range of passing and there’s no doubt he will add to the quality that we already have at the club.

“He played against us in pre-season and although I was already aware of him, seeing him at first hand resonated with me.”

Potters get defensive dimension to midfield

Mark Hughes’ deeper-lying midfield options have been limited to Glenn Whelan and summer loan signing Marco van Ginkel this season, following the sale of Steven N’Zonzi to Sevilla.

Van Ginkel’s loan spell at the Britannia Stadium has been cut short, however, with the Dutchman embarking instead on a temporary switch to PSV Eindhoven from parent club Chelsea.