Giannelli Imbula joins Stoke City in club-record £18.3m deal from Porto

The 23-year-old moves on a five-and-half year deal

Giannelli Imbula in action for Porto (Getty Images)

Stoke City have announced the signing of midfielder Giannelli Imbula from Porto for a club-record £18.3million, on a five-and-a-half-year deal.

The 23-year-old had only moved to Porto from Marseilles for €20m last summer.

Potters' manager Mark Hughes said: "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."

Imbula lined up against the Potters for Marseille in the Colonia Cup in Germany during the summer.

Stoke chief executive Tony Scholes said: "Giannelli is a player we have been trailing for some time and we are delighted to have concluded a deal to sign him.

"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."