Italian side Sampdoria are interested in a move for Stoke City midfielder Giannelli Imbula, according to Tuttosport, as reported by Football Italia.

The report claims that they're looking to replace Lucas Torreira, heavily linked with Arsenal, and see the Potters player as perfect to do just that.

Torreira was waiting for the end of the World Cup before switching to the Gunners, but with their interest ended the deal is now set to be completed.

The Blucerchiati are now considering Imbula as his replacement, although he wouldn't be a loss Stoke hadn't prepared for. He spent last season out on loan in France with Toulouse and didn't feature once for the Potters.

Imbula joined Stoke for £18.3m from Porto in January 2016, but failed to make a significant impact. He made just 23 Premier League starts before his switch abroad, but played 30 times for the French outfit last season as his parent club were relegated from the top flight.

His last game for Stoke came on March 8th 2017, as they drew 0-0 with Manchester City. That was only his third outing of 2017 and he got five minutes of action, replacing Joe Allen late on.

The Verdict

It's unlikely they'll get a decent sum for Imbula, but he's a big-money misfit and needs moving on as soon as possible.

His time in Stoke has been terrible and it is players such as him, huge investments with no rewards, that contribute to them now facing life in the second tier. I don't expect many will shed tears when he does go.

[ad_pod ]