Stoke City have completed the club-record signing of midfielder Giannelli Imbula from Porto for a fee of £18.3million.

The 23-year-old has signed a five-and-a-half year contract at the Britannia Stadium just a few months after moving to Portugal in a £15million deal from Marseille last summer.

Midfielder Marco van Ginkel announced that he had cut short his season-long loan at Stoke from Chelsea, moving to PSV Eindhoven after the addition of Imbula was confirmed.

A statement of intent from Stoke

Not only did Imbula's transfer break Stoke's record transfer for the second time in five months, eclipsing the £12million the Potters signed Xherdan Shaqiri for from Inter Milan in the summer, but the transfer was the most expensive signing in Europe during the January transfer window.

Stoke were impressed with the player during their pre-season friendly against Porto last summer and the Belgian-born France Under-21 international is seen as an ideal replacement for Steven N'Zonzi, who joined La Liga side Sevilla for £7million in July.

Stoke boss Mark Hughes was pleased with his new addition and told the club's official website that the midfielder is a "big signing" for the club and one that will "add to the quality" that is already present at the club.

Hughes described Imbula as a "good young player" who has "great power", "good ability on the ball" and a "great range of passing" and added that seeing Imbula play first-hand "resonated" his desire to welcome the 23-year-old to the Britannia Stadium.

Marco van Ginkel swaps Stoke for PSV

Marco van Ginkel made 20 appearances for Stoke, starting just eight Premier League games. | Image: PSV Media
Marco van Ginkel made 20 appearances for Stoke, starting just eight Premier League games. | Image: PSV Media

Stoke have let Chelsea midfielder Marco van Ginkel leave his loan spell early to join Dutch club PSV Eindhoven on loan until the end of the season.

The 23-year-old, who spent last season on loan at AC Milan before his move to the Potteries, started the first six games of the Premier League campaign, but he has since found himself behind Ibrahim Afellay and Glenn Whelan in the pecking order.

And with the addition of Imbula, Van Ginkel has decided to switch the Potteries for Eindhoven in order to get more action under his belt. Mark Hughes later confirmed that the Netherlands midfielder would have remained at Stoke for the duration of his loan deal, if the Potters had not been able to pull off the signing of Imbula on deadline day.

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About the author
Adam Bailey
Everton editor, who also covers cycling and athletics.