Stoke City

Giannelli Imbula: 'I will give my best for Stoke City'

By Danielle Joynson, Staff Reporter | 01 February 2016

Stoke City's deadline-day signing Giannelli Imbula says that he will give his "best" to the club following his £18.3m move from Porto.

Stoke City's club-record signing Giannelli Imbula has insisted that he will give his "best" for the club after they spent £18.3m to land him from Porto.

The 23-year-old has put pen to paper on a five-and-a-half-year contract and the fee has eclipsed last summer's £12m sum for Xherdan Shaqiri.

Imbula joined Porto just last year, but he has decided to make the jump to the Premier League, which he describes as the "biggest" in the world.

"I'm really pleased to have become a Stoke City player - it's a very exciting moment for me in my career," Imbula told the club's official website. "Everyone talks about the Premier League. It's the biggest championship in the world and I really hope to be part of it very soon.

"It's really important the fact Mark Hughes (manager) has shown a desire to sign me. I will give my best for him and the club. The last months I've spent in Porto have been difficult. I really hope everything will be fine here.

"It was important that the coach wanted me. I watched many Stoke City games and I've really appreciated the way they play football. Stoke is a top 10 club, I've watched a lot of the games and I know most of the players."

Imbula should be eligible to make his debut against Everton at the Britannia Stadium this Saturday.