Giannelli Imbula wants Stoke exit as £18.3million record signing eyes dream return to France amid Marseille links
French midfielder has not started a Prem game in 2017
GIANNELLI IMBULA is ready to quit Stoke at the end of the season and dreams of a return to France.
The 24-year-old Frenchman has not started a Premier League game this year and was not even in the squad for Saturday’s 2-0 win against Middlesbrough.
Now the club’s £18.3million record signing admits he was left frustrated by recent talks with Stoke boss Mark Hughes over his role.
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Imbula says: “I’ve already spoken to the manager about what is happening but it didn’t come to much.
“Things haven’t turned out quite how I wanted at Stoke and it’s certain that I’ll need to have more discussions with the club.
“I still have ambitions and objectives and we will have to see what happens at the end of the season.
“All I can do at the moment is keep working hard in training and wait for my chance.
“I’m in good shape physically but picking the team is the choice of the coach.”
Imbula, 24, still has more than four years left on his Stoke contract after arriving from Porto in January last year.
But he hasn’t started a Premier League game since the 4-1 defeat at Liverpool in December and believes he does not feature in Hughes’ long-term plans.
He has been linked with a return to former club Marseille and says: “It’s the club that allowed me to make my name in France and I hold very good memories from my time there.
“But I will not talk about a move back there or to other clubs. That is something to think about in the summer.”