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Giannelli Imbula

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Gilbert Imbula Wanga (born 12 September 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder.[3] Born in Belgium, Imbula played youth football for France, before changing international allegiance to the DR Congo national football team.

Giannelli Imbula
Imbula with Marseille in 2013
Personal information
Full name Gilbert Imbula Wanga[1]
Date of birth (1992-09-12) 12 September 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Vilvoorde, Belgium[2]
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Youth career
1998–1999 US Argenteuil
2000–2004 Racing Club
2004–2005 Paris Saint-Germain
2005–2007 Racing Club
2007–2009 Guingamp
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2013 Guingamp 91 (4)
2013–2014 Marseille B 2 (0)
2013–2015 Marseille 66 (3)
2015–2016 Porto 10 (0)
2016–2020 Stoke City 26 (2)
2017–2018 → Toulouse (loan) 28 (1)
2018–2019 → Rayo Vallecano (loan) 22 (1)
2019–2020 → Lecce (loan) 3 (0)
2020 Sochi 1 (0)
2021–2022 Portimonense 9 (0)
2023 Tuzlaspor 14 (1)
2023–2024 İstanbulspor 4 (0)
International career
2013 France U20 4 (0)
2013–2014 France U21 7 (0)
2019– DR Congo 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 February 2024

Imbula began his career with French club Guingamp, where he progressed from the youth teams to make his professional debut in October 2009. He helped Guingamp to promotion from the Championnat National in 2010–11. He established himself as a key member of the Guingamp team in Ligue 2 and one of the stand out players in the division which saw him win the Ligue 2 Player of the Year Award. This prompted Ligue 1 side Marseille to sign Imbula for a fee of €7 million.

He spent two seasons at the Stade Vélodrome before joining Portuguese side Porto in the summer of 2015 for €20 million. After seven months at Porto, Imbula joined English club Stoke City for a club record £18.3 million. Despite making a promising start at Stoke, he had a poor 2016–17 season and was sent on loan to Ligue 1 side Toulouse in 2017–18, La Liga side Rayo Vallecano in 2018–19 and Serie A side Lecce in 2019–20.

Club career

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Early career

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Imbula was born in Vilvoorde, Belgium, to Congolese parents, who moved to Paris when he was young.[4] Growing up he played youth team football with US Argenteuil, Racing Club, Paris Saint-Germain before moving to Guingamp when he was 15.[5][6]

Imbula progressed through the youth team at the Stade de Roudourou and made his professional debut in Ligue 2 on 16 October 2009 in a game against Dijon, becoming the youngest player in Ligue 2 history at 17 years, 1 month and 4 days of age.[7] He played 33 times in 2010–11, scoring twice and helping Guingamp gain an instant promotion back to Ligue 2.[8] He made 30 appearances in 2011–12 as the side finished seventh which was followed by promotion to Ligue 1 in 2012–13, with Imbula making 36 appearances, scoring two goals and he was named Ligue 2 Player of the Year.[7][8]

Marseille

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In July 2013, Imbula joined Marseille for a fee of €7 million, including bonuses.[9][6] He played 37 times for Marseille in 2013–14 as the team and Imbula failed to make a significant impact, finishing outside of the European places in sixth spot. However, under the management of Marcelo Bielsa in 2014–15, Imbula formed an effective understanding with André Ayew, André-Pierre Gignac and Dimitri Payet where they finished in fourth place in the league table and were the second highest goalscorers with 76 goals.[6]

Porto

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On 1 July 2015, Imbula signed a five-year contract with Portuguese side Porto for a club record fee of €20 million.[10][11] He struggled, however, to settle in Portugal and reports emerged that Porto would be willing to let him leave in the 2016 January transfer window.[12]

Stoke City

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On 1 February 2016, Imbula joined Premier League club Stoke City on a five-and-a-half-year contract for a club record €24 million (£18.3 million).[13][14][15] He made his Stoke debut on 6 February 2016 in a 3–0 defeat against Everton.[16] Imbula scored his first goal for Stoke on 13 February in a 3–1 win over Bournemouth.[17] He made a good start to his Stoke career and earned the praise of teammate Geoff Cameron.[18] He scored in a 2–1 victory against West Ham United on the final day of the 2015–16 season, helping Stoke to a ninth-place finish.[19]

Stoke and Imbula made a poor start to the 2016–17 campaign and he was dropped from the side by manager Mark Hughes.[20] He returned to the side in December and January before again being left out of the squad by Hughes.[21][22] Imbula made 14 appearances for Stoke in 2016–17 and it was reported that the club would be willing to cut their losses on Imbula in the summer transfer window.[23][24] Whilst at Stoke, Imbula's attitude prompted some heavy criticism from some of his club teammates. Glen Johnson spoke on BBC Radio 5 Live in March 2019 about an occasion where Imbula subbed himself in a pre-season game after someone did not pass him the ball, only to sub himself back on again ten minutes later.[25] Imbula's contract with Stoke was terminated on 22 February 2020.[26]

Loan to Toulouse

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In August 2017, Imbula joined Toulouse on loan for the 2017–18 season.[27] Imbula played 34 times for Toulouse, helping them remain in Ligue 1 after they defeated Ajaccio in a relegation play-off.[28]

Loan to Rayo Vallecano

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On 30 August 2018, Imbula moved to La Liga side Rayo Vallecano on a one-year loan deal.[29] Imbula played 24 times for Rayo in 2018–19 as the team finished bottom of the table,[28] scoring once with a long-range strike in a 0–1 win at SD Huesca on his 14 September 2018 debut.[30]

Loan to Lecce

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Imbula joined Serie A side Lecce on loan for the 2019–20 season.[31] On 21 February 2020 he received the consensual termination of the contract with the Italian club.[32]

Sochi

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On 3 March 2020, Imbula signed for Russian Premier League club PFC Sochi.[33] He left Sochi in late July 2020.[34]

After leaving Sochi, Imbula was allowed to use the training facilities of former club Guingamp,[35] but ultimately he wasn't offered a contract by the Ligue 2 side.[36]

Portimonense

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On 9 March 2021, Imbula signed for Primeira Liga club Portimonense S.C.[37]

Tuzlaspor

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On 9 January 2023, Imbula joined TFF First League club Tuzlaspor.[38][39]

İstanbulspor

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On 30 August 2023 he signed a 2-year contract with Süper Lig club İstanbulspor.[40]

International career

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Born to Congolese parents,[41] Imbula was born in Belgium but raised in France. In 2013, he acquired French nationality by naturalization and received a call up from France under-21 team to compete in the Toulon Tournament.[42] In October 2015, however, Imbula publicly expressed his desire to play for the Belgium national team, for which reason he has required authorization to FIFA to do so.[43] Imbula was called up to the DR Congo national team squad to face Tanzania on 14 March 2018, but rejected the call-up.[44] One year later, Imbula was named in the provisional DR Congo squad for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.[45][46] However, he was not included in the final 23-man squad after his international clearance was not processed in time.[47] He received international clearance in October 2019.[48] Imbula debuted for the DR Congo in a 0–0 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification tie with Gabon on 14 November 2019.[49]

Style of play

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Imbula plays as a defensive midfielder and has been described by Mark Hughes as being able to play in centre midfield: "He's a defensive midfielder and he's got a lot of attributes in terms of understanding that role, but he can play in a three as well. I like that flexibility in players because it gives me more options. He's a good young player with good power, good ability on the ball, and a good range of passing."[50]

Personal life

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Imbula married his fiancée, Linda, in the summer of 2016.[51] Imbula was caught speeding in Stockport in March 2016.[52]

Career statistics

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As of match played 8 January 2024[28]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Guingamp 2009–10[28] Ligue 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 — 2 0
2010–11[28] Championnat National 28 2 1 0 4 0 — 33 2
2011–12[28] Ligue 2 27 0 0 0 3 0 — 30 0
2012–13[28] Ligue 2 34 2 2 0 0 0 — 36 2
Total 91 4 3 0 7 0 — 101 4
Marseille B 2013–14[28] CFA 2 2 0 — — — 2 0
Marseille 2013–14[53] Ligue 1 29 1 2 0 2 0 4[a] 0 37 1
2014–15[54] Ligue 1 37 2 1 0 1 0 — 39 2
Total 66 3 3 0 3 0 4 0 76 3
Porto 2015–16[55] Primeira Liga 10 0 3 0 3 0 5[a] 0 21 0
Stoke City 2015–16[55] Premier League 14 2 0 0 0 0 — 14 2
2016–17[23] Premier League 12 0 1 0 1 0 — 14 0
2017–18[56] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2018–19[57] EFL Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2019–20[58] EFL Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Total 26 2 1 0 1 0 — 28 2
Stoke City U23 2016–17[23] — — — — 1[b] 0 1 0
Toulouse (loan) 2017–18[28] Ligue 1 28 1 0 0 2 0 2[c] 0 34 1
Rayo Vallecano (loan) 2018–19[28] La Liga 22 1 2 0 — — 24 1
Lecce (loan) 2019–20[28] Serie A 3 0 1 1 — — 4 1
Sochi 2019–20[28] Russian Premier League 1 0 0 0 — — 1 0
Portimonense 2021–22[28] Primeira Liga 9 0 3 0 2 0 — 14 0
Tuzlaspor 2022–23[28] TFF First League 14 1 0 0 — — 14 1
2023–34[28] TFF First League 1 0 0 0 — — 1 0
Total 15 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 1
İstanbulspor 2023–34[28] Süper Lig 4 0 1 0 — — 5 0
Career total 277 12 17 1 18 0 12 0 324 13
  1. ^ a b All appearances in the UEFA Champions League
  2. ^ Appearance in the EFL Trophy
  3. ^ All appearances in the Ligue 1 relegation play-offs

Honours

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Individual

References

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  1. ^ "List of players under written contract registered between 01/02/2016 and 29/02/2016" (PDF). The Football Association. p. 3. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  2. ^ "Taillé pour être grand". Le Télégramme. 26 August 2011.
  3. ^ Giannelli Imbula at Soccerway
  4. ^ "Can Mark Hughes help Giannelli Imbula realise his potential at Stoke City?". ESPNFC. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  5. ^ Gianelli Imbula on FFF.fr (in French)
  6. ^ a b c "Who is Stoke City's record transfer signing Giannelli Imbula from FC Porto?". Sky Sports. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  7. ^ a b c "Imbula profile". Talk Sport. 21 October 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  8. ^ a b "Giannelli Imbula // Player Profile". 4231 Stoke. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  9. ^ "Imbula joins Marseille" (PDF).
  10. ^ "Futebol Clube do Porto – Futebol, SAD" (PDF). FC Porto. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  11. ^ "Europas Top-Ligen 2018/2019". Kicker. p. 173.
  12. ^ "Porto willing to sell Imbula – agent". 442. 3 January 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  13. ^ F.C. Porto (1 February 2016). "Comunicado" [Communication] (PDF) (Press release) (in Portuguese). CMVM. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  14. ^ "Giannelli Is A Potter". Stoke City. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  15. ^ "Transfer deadline day: Stoke City sign Giannelli Imbula from Porto". BBC Sport. February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  16. ^ "Imbula Handed Potters Debut". Stoke City. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  17. ^ "Bournemouth 1–3 Stoke". BBC Sport. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  18. ^ "Geoff Cameron tries to bite his tongue over Giannelli Imbula". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 20 May 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  19. ^ "Stoke 2–1 West Ham". BBC Sport. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  20. ^ "Mark Hughes gives Stoke City outcast Giannelli Imbula encouragement over future". Stoke Sentinel. Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  21. ^ "We are not giving up on Giannelli Imbula says Stoke City boss". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  22. ^ "What next for Giannelli Imbula, Stoke's £18.3m enigma?". Stoke Sentinel. Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  23. ^ a b c "Games played by Giannelli Imbula in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  24. ^ Percy, John (6 April 2017). "Stoke City ready to sell record signing Giannelli Imbula this summer". The Telegraph. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  25. ^ "What went wrong at Stoke 2017/2018? Glen Johnson said he saw relegation coming pre-season". Twitter. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  26. ^ "Giannelli Imbula: Stoke cancel contract of £18.3m record signing". BBC Sport. 22 February 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  27. ^ "Giannelli Imbula: Stoke midfielder signs loan deal with French club Toulouse". BBC Sport. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  28. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Giannelli Imbula at Soccerway
  29. ^ "Imbula Joins Rayo Vallecano". Stoke City F.C. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  30. ^ "Imbula's debut screamer seals Rayo Vallecano victory at Huesca". Belfast Telegraph. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  31. ^ "Stoke City transfer news: £18.3 midfielder heads out for third season on loan". Stoke Sentinel. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  32. ^ "Risoluzione consensuale con Imbula".
  33. ^ "Добро пожаловать, Жильбер!". pfcsochi.ru/ (in Russian). PFC Sochi. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  34. ^ "Экс-полузащитник "Марселя" и "Порту" Имбула ушел из "Сочи"" (in Russian). Sport24. 29 July 2020.
  35. ^ "GIANNELLI IMBULA BACK IN GUINGAMP". www.eaguingamp.com (in French). 7 October 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  36. ^ "En Avant met un terme définitif à l'option Giannelli Imbula". www.eaguingamp.com (in French). January 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  37. ^ "IMBULA OFICIALIZADO" [Imbula Officialized]. www.portimonense.pt (in Portuguese). 9 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  38. ^ Aktan, Ugur (9 January 2023). "Bonservisine 50 milyon eurodan fazla ödenen 30 yaşındaki dünya yıldızı bedavaya Tuzlaspor'da". www.goal.com (in Turkish). Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  39. ^ Tuzlaspor 1954 (9 January 2023). "🇨🇬 Giannelli Imbula Tuzlaspor'umuzda 🔵⚪️🌟". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 8 January 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  40. ^ "İstanbulspor'a Demokratik Kongolu ön libero". Sportando. 1 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  41. ^ "45 joueurs présélectionnés pour le match RDC-Guinée Equatoriale de la CAN-Afrique du Sud 2013". ACPCongo.com. 17 July 2012. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  42. ^ "Le Guingampais Giannelli Imbula naturalisé français". Ouest-France.fr (in French). 19 February 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  43. ^ "Porto's Giannelli Imbula yet to decide between Belgium and France". ESPN FC. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  44. ^ "Giannelli Imbula 'has no desire' to honour surprise international call-up". Stoke Sentinel. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  45. ^ "CAN TOTAL EGYPTE 2019 : D'ABORD UNE PRÉ-LISTE DE 32 D'IBENGE…". Rdcongoleopardsfoot.com. 21 May 2019.
  46. ^ Barrie, Mohamed Fajah (24 May 2019). "Africa Cup of Nations: Giannelli Imbula awaits clearnce to play for DR Congo". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  47. ^ Barrie, Mohamed Fajah (12 June 2019). "Africa Cup of Nations: Stoke's Imbula 'sad and angry' at DR Congo omission". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  48. ^ "Imbula finally set to make DR Congo debut". BBC Sport. 2 October 2019.
  49. ^ "Éliminatoires CAN 2021: la RD Congo bute sur le Gabon". RFI. 14 November 2019.
  50. ^ "Don't compare record signing with Steven Nzonzi, says Mark Hughes". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  51. ^ "Stoke City's summer of love: Giannelli Imbula becomes third Potter to get wed in close-season". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  52. ^ "Premier League footballer caught doing 72mph through 50mph zone in Stockport". Manchester Evening News. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  53. ^ "Games played by Giannelli Imbula in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  54. ^ "Games played by Giannelli Imbula in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  55. ^ a b "Games played by Giannelli Imbula in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  56. ^ "Games played by Giannelli Imbula in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  57. ^ "Games played by Giannelli Imbula in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  58. ^ "Games played by Giannelli Imbula in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  59. ^ a b "Le Palmarès complet". UNFP (in French). 19 May 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
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