Stoke City officially announces Ibrahim Afellay signing

Perennial mid-table Premier League side Stoke City has officially announced the signing of free-agent Dutch international Ibrahim Afellay.

Afellay - who spent last season on loan at Greek side Olympiacos - failed to find a home at Barcelona as his contract with the Catalans expired at season's end.

Afellay joins three other former Barcelona players at the Britannia Stadium, Moha El Ouriachi, Marc Muniesa and Bojan Krkic, hoping to regain the form that saw him make 217 appearances for PSV Eindhoven over an eight-year period prior to his sale to Barcelona.

With a skill set rich in passing and possession, Afellay should help contribute to manager Mark Hughes' attempts to change Stoke City's notoriously sluggish, defensive-minded style into a more fluid, attacking brand of Premier League soccer.