Stoke City confirmed they have broken their club transfer record to land Porto midfielder Giannelli Imbula for £18.3m.
Imbula, 23, has put pen to paper on a five-and-a-half-year deal and was the most expensive player to be traded across Europe’s top five leagues in the January transfer window.
The former France Under-21 international is highly regarded on the continent and his performances in the Champions League have been highly impressive.
He is thought to be player that will give Stoke the perfect balance in midfield and the long-term replacement for Steven N’Zonzi, who left for Sevilla at the start of the season.
“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 told Stoke’s official website.
“He played against us in pre-season and although I was already aware of him, seeing him at first hand resonated with me.”
Only four players to start at least five Champions League games since the start of September 2013 have completed a dribble more often than Imbula (every 16.3 mins).
For more stats on Giannelli Imbula, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
