Stoke City smashes club transfer record to sign Giannelli Imbula for £18.3M
To see a list of completed deals in the January window thus far, visit theScore's Premier League transfer tracker.
Belgian-born midfielder Giannelli Imbula has joined Stoke City from FC Porto as the Potters continue their quest for European football, with the club breaking its own transfer record to complete the £18.3-million signing.
Imbula, 23, was in Stoke-on-Trent on Monday for a medical ahead of the transfer window slamming shut at 6 p.m. GMT, with the Potters announcing the deal some 20 minutes prior to the deadline.
(Courtesy: Stoke City)
"Giannelli is a player we have been trailing for some time and we are delighted to have concluded a deal to sign him," Stoke's chief executive Tony Scholes said.
"At one stage it looked unlikely that we would be able to get the deal over the line but things accelerated quickly earlier today and Giannelli is really excited about the prospect of playing in the Premier League with us."
The Paris Saint-Germain academy product has been a highly regarded young talent following a spell at Marseille, where he made 66 appearances for Olympique between 2013-15, before his €20-million move to the Portuguese giants.
Stoke was thought to be among four English top-flight sides intrigued by Imbula, joining West Brom, Southampton, and Aston Villa as parties interested in the deep-lying midfielder.
With the summer moves for Xherdan Shaqiri and Ibrahim Afellay, and the reinvigorated form of attacker Marko Arnautovic, Hughes was looking for a midfielder to complement and sit behind playmaker Bojan Krkic.
"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," Hughes said of the deal.
The arrival of the French Under-21 standout would also spell relief for Irish defensive midfielder Glenn Whelan. The 32-year-old has appeared off the pace in a handful of matches this season.
Imbula has featured in 10 league matches for Porto this season, paired with five Champions League appearances for the side that currently sits third in the Primeira Liga table.