Walters hails ‘brilliant’ Imbula after Stoke return

Giannelli Imbula may have struggled since joining Stoke City last season but striker Jonathan Walters insists he is one of the best players he has ever played with.

Imbula joined the Potters in a club-record £18m deal from FC Porto in January and he made an impressive start with his pace, power and agility adding an extra urgency to Stoke’s midfield.

But his form alarmingly dipped earlier this season, coinciding with Stoke’s disastrous start – which saw them lose four of their first five Premier League games.

However, injuries to Geoff Cameron and Glenn Whelan saw Imbula return at Watford after two months out of the team, and he impressed in a 1-0 victory at Vicarage Road.

Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

And Walters believes he can now quickly improve and become one of the Potters’ most important players.

“Giannelli is a brilliant player. He’s new to the country and he came without much English – us boys that live over here probably take that for granted,” said Walters.

“But I think he’s up there with one of the best I’ve played with; he’s very, very good. He just needs a bit of direction really and today I thought he was excellent.

“He was getting on the ball and moving it around quickly. His feet are excellent, one-on-one if you go up against him he’ll get past you.

“You should see him in training, what he does. I think he’s excellent and he’s got a big future ahead of him here.

“He’s only a young guy so fair play, he’s been sitting out for a while and he’s come in and straight away been excellent.”