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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchOn the reported fees, Stoke City spent £36.3 million on Giannelli Imbula and Kevin Wimmer. Neither became a sustained contributor: Imbula was loaned out after a short spell, while Wimmer made 19 Stoke appearances and left permanently for Rapid Vienna after three seasons spent on loan elsewhere. Calling the signings a waste is fair as a judgment on their sporting return—not as a proven calculation of the club’s total financial loss.
What did Stoke pay for Imbula and Wimmer?
The Guardian reported that Stoke paid Porto £18.3 million for Imbula in February 2016, describing the move as a club-record signing at the time. The Premier League reported Wimmer’s 2017 move from Tottenham at £18 million. Tottenham’s announcement confirmed an agreement but did not disclose a fee, so the £18 million figure is the Premier League’s reported amount.
Those two published figures add up to £36.3 million—close enough to explain “nearly £40m,” but not an exact £40 million. The figures are reported transfer fees, not a complete account of either deal’s costs or eventual financial outcome. The Guardian’s Imbula report; the Premier League’s Wimmer report; Tottenham’s transfer announcement.
How did the signings turn out on the pitch?
Giannelli Imbula: a brief Stoke spell, then loans
When Stoke signed Imbula, manager Mark Hughes praised his “good power,” “good ability on the ball” and “good range of passing,” saying he would add quality to the squad. The expectation was clear: Imbula was brought in as a significant addition, not a speculative bargain.
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BBC Sport reported 23 Stoke appearances before Imbula’s first loan, to Toulouse in 2017. A later BBC report, in August 2018, described him as having made 26 league appearances and scored two goals for Stoke. Those are different counts from different dates and with different scopes; they should not be merged into one definitive total. Hughes later conceded that “things haven’t quite worked out,” as BBC Sport reported when the Toulouse loan was arranged.
Imbula was subsequently loaned to Rayo Vallecano. These moves show that Stoke did not retain him as a regular contributor, although the cited reports do not establish a final contract-termination date or the eventual financial return on his transfer. BBC Sport’s report on the Toulouse loan; BBC Sport’s report on the Rayo Vallecano loan.
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Kevin Wimmer: 19 Stoke games, then no return to the team
Wimmer made 19 appearances for Stoke, all in the 2017–18 season. BBC Sport reported in 2021 that he had not appeared for the club after January 2018. He spent three seasons on loan elsewhere before moving permanently to Rapid Vienna in 2021.
The contrast between an £18 million reported fee and a single season of 19 appearances makes the limited sporting return plain. The available report does not give a complete account of Stoke’s financial recovery from the transfer. BBC Sport’s account of Wimmer’s move to Rapid Vienna.
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Is “a waste of nearly £40m” a fair verdict?
As a verdict on Stoke’s sporting return, yes: the club committed a combined reported £36.3 million to two players who did not become lasting first-team contributors. Imbula was loaned out after a short Stoke spell, and Wimmer’s Stoke career effectively stopped after January 2018 despite his remaining under the club’s control long enough to spend three seasons on loan.
That judgment has limits. The cited reporting does not establish wages, bonuses, resale proceeds across the deals, or other contract terms, so it cannot prove a net financial loss of £36.3 million—or any other exact amount. Nor does it show that either signing caused Stoke’s relegation. The defensible conclusion is narrower: substantial reported fees bought little sustained service for Stoke’s first team.
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