Giannelli Imbula

Giannelli Imbula

Imbula with Marseille in 2013
Personal information
Full name Giannelli Imbula Wanga
Date of birth (1992-09-12) 12 September 1992
Place of birth Vilvoorde, Belgium[1]
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Stoke City
Number 21
Youth career
1998–1999 US Argenteuil
2000–2004 Racing Club
2004–2005 Paris Saint-Germain
2005–2007 Racing Club
2007–2009 Guingamp
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2013 Guingamp 90 (4)
2013–2015 Marseille 66 (3)
2013–2014 Marseille B 2 (0)
2015–2016 Porto 10 (0)
2016– Stoke City 20 (2)
National team‡
2013 France U20 4 (1)
2013–2014 France U21 7 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:32, 3 December 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:45, 18 November 2014 (UTC)

Giannelli Imbula Wanga (pronounced: [dʒanɛli imbula]; born Gilbert Imbula, 12 September 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Stoke City.

Imbula began his career with French club Guingamp where he progressed from the youth teams to make his professional debut in October 2009. He helped Guingamp to promotion from the Championnat National in 2010–11. He established himself as a key member of the Guingamp team in Ligue 2 and one of the stand out players in the division which saw him win the Ligue 2 Player of the Year Award. This prompted Ligue 1 side Marseille to sign Imbula for a fee of €7 million. He spent two seasons at the Stade Vélodrome before joining Portuguese side Porto in the summer of 2015 for €20 million. After seven months at Porto, Imbula joined English Premier League club Stoke City for a club record £18.3 million.

Club career

Guingamp

Imbula was born in Vilvoorde, Belgium, to Congolese parents, who moved to Paris when he was young.[2] Growing up he played youth team football with US Argenteuil, Racing Club, Paris Saint-Germain before moving to Guingamp when he was 15.[3][4]

Imbula progressed through the youth team at the Stade du Roudourou and made his professional debut in Ligue 2 on 16 October 2009 in a game against Dijon, becoming the youngest player in Ligue 2 history at 17 years, 1 month and 4 days of age.[5] He played 33 times in 2010–11, scoring twice helping Guingamp gain an instant promotion back to Ligue 2.[6] He made 30 appearances in 2011–12 as the side finished seventh which was followed by promotion to Ligue 1 in 2012–13, with Imbula making 36 appearances, scoring two goals and he was named Ligue 2 Player of the Year.[5][6]

Marseille

In July 2013, Imbula joined Marseille for a fee of €7 million, including bonuses.[7][4] He played 37 times for Marsille in 2013–14 as the team and Imbula failed to make a significant impact, finishing outside of the European places in sixth spot. However, under the management of Marcelo Bielsa in 2014–15, Imbula formed an effective understanding with André Ayew, André-Pierre Gignac and Dimitri Payet where they finished in fourth place in the league table and were the second highest goalscorers with 76 goals.[4]

Porto

On 1 July 2015, Imbula signed a five-year contract with Portuguese side Porto for a fee of €20 million.[8] He struggled, however, to settle in Portugal and reports emerged that Porto would be willing to let him leave in the 2016 January transfer window.[9]

Stoke City

On 1 February 2016, Imbula joined English Premier League club Stoke City on a five-and-a-half year contract for a club record £18.3 million.[10][11] He made his Stoke debut on 6 February 2016 in a 3–0 defeat against Everton.[12] Imbula scored his first goal for Stoke on 13 February in a 3–1 win over Bournemouth.[13] He made a good start to his Stoke career and earned the praise of team mate Geoff Cameron.[14] He scored in a 2–1 victory against West Ham United on the final day of the 2015–16 season, helping Stoke to a ninth-place finish.[15]

Stoke and Imbula made a poor start to the 2016–17 campaign and he was dropped from the side by manager Mark Hughes.[16]

International career

Born to Congolese parents,[17] Imbula was born in Belgium but raised in France, making him eligible for any of these three countries. In 2013, he received a call up from France U21 to compete in the Toulon Tournament. In October 2015, however, Imbula publicly expressed his desire to play for the Belgium national team, for which reason he has required authorization to FIFA to do so.[18][19]

Style of play

Imbula plays as a defensive midfielder and has been described by Mark Hughes as being able to play in centre midfield.—"He's a defensive midfielder and he's got a lot of attributes in terms of understanding that role, but he can play in a three as well. I like that flexibility in players because it gives me more options. He's a good young player with good power, good ability on the ball, and a good range of passing."[20]

Personal life

Imbula married his fiancee, Linda, in the summer of 2016.[21] Imbula was caught speeding in Stockport in March 2016.[22]

Career statistics

As of match played 3 December 2016[23]
Club Season League Cup[24] League Cup[25] Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Guingamp 2009–10[23] Ligue 2 200000—20
2010–11[23] Championnat National 2821040—332
2011–12[23] Ligue 2 2700030—300
2012–13[23] Ligue 2 3422000—362
Total 9143070—1014
Marseille 2013–14[26] Ligue 1 29120204[lower-alpha 1]0371
2014–15[27] Ligue 1 3721010—392
Total 663303040763
Marseille B 2013–14[23] CFA 2 20———20
Porto 2015–16[28] Primeira Liga 10030305[lower-alpha 1]0210
Stoke City 2015–16[28] Premier League 1420000—142
2016–17[29] Premier League 600010—70
Total 2020010—212
Career total 189990140902219
  1. 1 2 All appearances in UEFA Champions League

    Honours

    Individual

    References

    1. ↑ "Taillé pour être grand". Le Télégramme. 26 August 2011.
    2. ↑ "Can Mark Hughes help Giannelli Imbula realise his potential at Stoke City?". ESPNFC. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
    3. ↑ Gianelli Imbula on FFF.fr (French)
    4. 1 2 3 "Who is Stoke City's record transfer signing Giannelli Imbula from FC Porto?". Sky Sports. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
    5. 1 2 3 "Imbula profile". Talk Sport. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
    6. 1 2 "Giannelli Imbula // Player Profile". 4231 Stoke. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
    7. ↑ Imbula joins Marseille
    8. ↑ "Futebol Clube do Porto – Futebol, SAD" (PDF). FC Porto. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
    9. ↑ "Porto willing to sell Imbula - agent". 442. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
    10. ↑ "Giannelli Is A Potter". Stoke City. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
    11. ↑ "Transfer deadline day: Stoke City sign Giannelli Imbula from Porto". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
    12. ↑ "Imbula Handed Potters Debut". Stoke City. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
    13. ↑ "Bournemouth 1-3 Stoke". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
    14. ↑ "Geoff Cameron tries to bite his tongue over Giannelli Imbula". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
    15. ↑ "Stoke 2-1 West Ham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
    16. ↑ "Mark Hughes gives Stoke City outcast Giannelli Imbula encouragement over future". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
    17. ↑ "45 joueurs présélectionnés pour le match RDC-Guinée Equatoriale de la CAN-Afrique du Sud 2013". ACPCongo.com. 17 July 2012.
    18. ↑ "Young star chooses to play for Belgium over France". Dream Team FC. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
    19. ↑ "Porto's Giannelli Imbula yet to decide between Belgium and France". ESPN FC. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
    20. ↑ "Don't compare record signing with Steven Nzonzi, says Mark Hughes". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
    21. ↑ "Stoke City's summer of love: Giannelli Imbula becomes third Potter to get wed in close-season". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
    22. ↑ "Premier League footballer caught doing 72mph through 50mph zone in Stockport". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
    23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Giannelli Imbula profile at Soccerway
    24. ↑ Includes cup competitions such as Coupe de France and Taça de Portugal
    25. ↑ Includes cup competitions such as Coupe de la Ligue and Taça da Liga
    26. ↑ "Games played by Gianelli Imbula in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
    27. ↑ "Games played by Gianelli Imbula in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
    28. 1 2 "Games played by Gianelli Imbula in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
    29. ↑ "Games played by Gianelli Imbula in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
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