Football
ESPN staff 7y

Stoke from Bruno Martins Indi from Porto on five-year contract

Bruno Martins Indi has completed a permanent transfer from Porto to Stoke, after spending last season on loan with the Premier League club.

Martins Indi, 25, signed a five-year contract and moves for a fee of €7.7 million.

He said he is ready to put protracted negotiations behind him and achieve "special things" with Stoke after finally signing a permanent deal with the club. 

"I am feeling very good, I am happy to be back and ready to fight for my place," Martins Indi told Stoke's official website. "I experienced the Premier League last season and I understand it better now, so hopefully with the help of my teammates I will be a better player this season. I just want to get back out on the field, give 100 percent and help my teammates to achieve special things on the pitch.

"It's been one year of negotiations, but finally we are there now and all three parties are happy with the solution."

Martins Indi may have to wait a little longer for his first appearance of the season, however. Stoke boss Mark Hughes, relieved to have completed his fifth summer signing, told a news conference on Friday morning that Martins Indi was not expected to feature in Saturday's opening fixture at Everton.

"It's one that's frustrated a lot of people, not least myself," Hughes said. "It's probably going to be a day too late [for the Everton game]. He will have a medical and that takes time, so the thinking is he will be ready to go from Monday."

Stoke chief executive Tony Scholes told the club's official website: "We are delighted to have secured a deal to bring Bruno to the club in a permanent transfer and I know that Bruno feels the same.

"Bruno loved being with us last season and made no secret of his desire to move here permanently when his loan spell came to an end. We've had to be patient in our dealings with Porto but we're really pleased with the outcome."

Hughes also confirmed that Joe Allen's former club Swansea had made an enquiry about the midfielder. The 27-year-old left the Liberty Stadium for Liverpool in 2012 before joining Stoke in a £13m deal last summer. 

"They made an enquiry," Hughes said. "It wasn't a bid or a request to buy him or anything like that. They just asked would we be willing to allow him to leave and we said no.

"I think we have to respect that they came and they did that and because of the answer they got you'd like to think they will respect our position."

Information from the Press Association was used in this report.

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