Stoke City have signed Bruno Martins Indi from Portuguese outfit Porto on a season-long loan. Martins Indi becomes the Potters’ third signing on the deadline day after the signing of Wilfried Bony on loan from Manchester City and goalkeeper Lee Grant on a temporary four-year deal from Derby.
Martins Indi, who can play as a centre-back or a left-back, joined Porto in the summer of 2014 from Feyenoord. Despite performing brilliantly in the 2014 World Cup, the Holland international fell out of favour at the club since then.
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Being a surplus at Porto saw him making a move to the Potters which leaves them with an option to sign him on a permanent deal at the end of his loan move.
The versatile defender had previously been linked with a move to the Premier League, with Liverpool and Everton both having been credited with an interest in his services. Martins Indi's move to Stoke will see German defender Philipp Wollscheid completing a move to Wolfsburg.
Also read: Confirmed: Wilfried Bony signs for Stoke City on season-long loan deal
Wollscheid was a key figure alongside Ryan Shawcross last season but the manager soon lost trust in the German defender despite him gaining the support of Stoke City fans. The 27-year-old started in both of Stoke's Premier League matches this season but was dropped in the 1-0 defeat to Everton.
Martins Indi has 31 international caps for Holland and was a key figure in the team which reached the World Cup semi-finals under Louis van Gaal in 2014.
Hughes has been in the market for a central defender and looked to be interested in Liverpool’s Mamadou Sakho after a loan offer was accepted, however, the player rejected the chance to play at the Bet365 stadium which saw them turn to the Dutch player.
Martins Indi will likely be the first choice for the centre back position ahead of Marc Muniesa and Geoff Cameron alongside Ryan Shawcross in Mark Hughes defence. Now that Mark Hughes has already got his man, the Stoke boss will look to bolster his signing after conceding 55 goals in the 2015-16 season.
The Dutchman will be right in contention to start for the Potters against the Spurs immediately after the end of the international break.
