Stoke City announced on Monday the free-agent signing of now-former Barcelona winger Ibrahim Afellay, the latest recruit in manager Mark Hughes’ endeavor to build a squad capable of bringing European football to the Britannia Stadium.
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Afellay, who makes four ex-Barcelona players now on the books at Stoke, featured for Schalke and Olympiacos while on loan from the Catalan giant the last two seasons (10 goals in 44 appearances combined - all competitions).
The 29-year-old Dutchman joins defender Marc Muniesa (2013) and wingers Bojan Krkic (2014) and Moha El Ouriachi (2015), all Barcelona youth academy products, as Blaugranas-turned-Potters over the last 24 months.
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Upon finishing ninth in the Premier League during the 2014-15 season, Hughes has continued his aggressive, continental approach to player signings this summer, as Spanish forward Joselu, German defender Philipp Wollscheid and Danish goalkeeper Jakob Haugaard join Glen Johnson and Shay Given as the club’s other major summer acquisitions.