Stoke City broke their transfer record back in the January transfer window of 2016 after they signed Giannelli Imbula from Porto.
Prior to his move to Porto, Imbula had established himself as one of the most promising midfielders in France after an impressive 2014/15 Ligue 1 season with Marseille, making his eventual arrival at the bet365 stadium look like quite a bit of a coup.
@stokecity I understand there’s a lot of people involved, but please pat Mr Hughes on the back, he’s doing incredible things for SCFC.
— Geeby Yu (@GeebyYu) February 1, 2016
@stokecity congrats to all involved, massive signing for our club!
— Rob Mason (@robmasee) February 1, 2016
@stokecity onwards & upwards!#SCFC #DeadlineDay
— Dave (@hartshillpotter) February 1, 2016
— ollie (@olliewalton33) February 1, 2016
https://twitter.com/BerrisfordSimon/status/694293601367527424
@stokecity Get in you beauty. Imbula is a stokie. Imbula is a stokie.. nah nah nah nah!!!!!
— Stokie Matt (@Stokie_Matt74) February 1, 2016
@stokecity what a signing !!
— Nathan (@nathj1993) February 1, 2016
However, Imbula was unable to replicate his Marseille form at Porto, prompting the Portuguese giants into selling the Frenchman to Stoke despite the fact that he had only recently joined them.
Early into his Stoke career, though, it was easy to see why Porto decided to part ways with him.
Imbula did manage to put in a few decent displays at the bet365 Stadium but, more often than not, the 26-year-old underwhelmed before eventually being shipped off to Toulouse on loan.
Imbula is now currently playing his football in La Liga with Rayo Vallecano for the season with his long-term future almost certain to be away from Stoke.
All in all, Imbula’s transfer from Porto to Stoke turned out to be a poor one on the Potters’ behalf after showing so much promise on paper.
