The 22-year-old Marseille midfielder has chosen to join the Portuguese league despite serious interest from Serie A side Inter Milan, as well as Premier League clubs Chelsea FC, Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton
Belgium-born French midfielder Giannelli Imbula has reportedly been pursued by a range of clubs in the Premier League and Serie A over the past few months, and a deal between his club Olympique de Marseille and Inter Milan was believed to have been struck earlier this week.
However, Francea s Radio Monte-Carlo (RMC) Sport have today claimed that the 22-year-old has chosen Julen Lopeteguia s Porto as his next destination, and will sign a 5-year contract with the Portuguese giants in the coming days. A fee of a 23 million has reportedly been agreed between the clubs.
The report was later corroborated by Sky Sport 24 (Italy) journalist Guglielmo Cannavale, who allegedly spoke to Imbulaa s father and agent Willy Ndangi and received confirmation that the French midfielder had chosen Porto.
Info @RMCsport : selon une source proche du joueur Gianelli Imbula a choisi #Porto . ! Contrat de 5 ans !!!
a Mohamed Bouhafsi as? (@mohamedbouhafsi) June 28, 2015
Modalit s du transfert de #Imbula : Ce serait un transfert sec estim 23Ma (paiement de 12 Ma mtn et de 11M en diff r ) #RMCsport
a Mohamed Bouhafsi as? (@mohamedbouhafsi) June 28, 2015
#Imbula‘s father-agent has just confirmed me: “Giannelli has chosen #Porto” #transfers
a Guglielmo Cannavale (@GugliCannavale) June 29, 2015
The news comes even as English media reports suggested that Ronald Koeman was confident of recruiting the Frenchman as a replacement for compatriot Morgan Schneiderlin, whose move to Manchester United will be completed imminently.
Imbula is a dynamic box-to-box midfielder a an engine in midfield with the ability to dribble past players and make runs with the ball into the attacking third. Although he is not a prolific goalscorer a scoring just twice in 37 Ligue 1 appearances last season a he is capable of contributing to the attack, and given his age, could well improve in this aspect.
With Atl tico Madrid likely to welcome back liver Torres in their squad for next season, and city rivals Real Madrid having already recalled Casemiro, Imbula is a much needed addition to Lopeteguia s squad.
The Frenchmana s skill-set would complement that of Mexican midfielder Hector Herrera and the two could form a formidable midfield for Porto a further strengthened by the precocious RA?ben Neves, with the teenager currently having an outstanding tournament with the Portugal U21 team at the European Championships in the Czech Republic.
Whether or not there are further twists in this tale remains to be seen, but as things stand, it appears that Giannelli Imbula will be plying his trade in Portugal next season.
