Stoke City Have Shown Their Worth With Gianelli Imbula.

Gianelli Imbula might be a new kid on the block for EPL fans but that might not be the case for French Ligue 1 football fans. At 17 years, 1 month and 4 days in October 2009, Imbula became the youngest player
to play for France's second division side Guingamp (Ligue 2).  Imbula might not yet be world class but he is certainly destined for the top. 

Born on 12 September 1992, Gilbert Gianelli Imbula played for the likes of PSG, Guingamp, Marseile and FC Porto before his club record move to Stoke City (£18m) in the 2015/2016 winter transfer window (deadline day). While at Guingamp, Imbula was voted the "Best Player of the Ligue 2" in May 2013, also helping them win promotion to the first division in the process . 

That summer, Imbula left for Northern France, where he signed for Marseille for €8m. His performances for Marseille caught the attention of many top clubs who all chased his signature at the end of the 2014/2015 season. He opted to play for France where he grew up instead of Belgium (country of birth) and Democratic Republic of Congo as a his country of his origin. 

Imbula was voted No.3 at the end of 2014/2015 season "End of Season Ligue 1 awards". Fans of Stoke City will be so elated and excited with the capture of the Frenchman,  as it shows the progress the Northern English team has made since winning promotion to the top division in 2007, under Tony Pulis. Stoke is also the team with the highest number of Champions League winners in their squad with the likes of Shaqiri (Bayern Munich), Bojan Krkic (Barcelona 2009 and 2011), Ibrahim Affelay (Barcelona 2011) Marko Arnautovic (Inter 2010).

Imbula is physically imposing standing at 6'1  and is also physically powerful and strong in tackle. He has a good first touch and is comfortable with the ball . He also posses an excellent technique and ability to go forward when the need arises. Imbula also posses great pace and focusses so much on his defensive responsibility . This has made him to be severally criticised for not shooting more at times. He enjoys sitting in front of the back-line and giving them the protection they deserve. 

Imbula is also a good game organiser and one that does not shy away from taking responsibilities . He is aggressive and and good in physical duels. Imbula is perfect in a 4-2-3-1 formation where he sits with a partner to shield the defence . This means he will partner Irish Glen Whelen in the Stoke midfield, when he makes his debut . 

The only problem Stoke City fans should be scared of is that, it might take time for him to acclimatise to his new environment like he did in Porto.  Also he rarely plays long passes favouring short passes instead. 

Imbula is raw and can sometimes be indisciplined which accounts for his dropping from the U21 French team for saying something inappropriate to a staff member. As a player with height he also needs to work on his heading which will complement his game.  

In summary Stoke has fortified their central midfield for years with a player of such technique (Imbula). Their only prayer is keeping him at the Britania for a long while as his performance is sure to bring European Powerful clubs loitering around for a deal in no distant time. For now Gianelli Imbula represents perfect business for Mark Hughes  .