Huddersfield winger Tom Ince joins Stoke in £12m deal as Gary Rowett eyes instant Premier League return
Rowett snaps up Ince on four year deal as Stoke plot automatic promotion challenge after their relegation from the top flight last season
STOKE have completed the £12million signing of Tom Ince as they plot an instant return to the Premier League.
Gary Rowett has agreed to stump up a £10m down payment with a further £2m to follow in add-ons to Huddersfield in order to clinch the signature of the former England under-21 winger.
Ince, 26, has signed a four-year contract to become the fifth signing of the summer at the Bet365 Stadium.
Rowett has already splashed out to bring in Peter Etebo, Benik Afobe, Adam Federici and James McClean this summer as he attempts to overhaul his squad.
And the arrival of Ince sees him link up again with the forward who worked well for him when he was manager of Derby.
It is a clear statement of intent from Stoke that they want to gain an instant return back to the top flight after suffering relegation last season.
Rowett said: “I’ve had the fortune to work with Tom before and he’s a terrifically talented player.
";He’s very strong technically and can play anywhere across the front three, but he’s particularly good from the right-hand side."
Ince said: “I am delighted to be here, at a massive club with a huge fan-base and am so excited to get going again now.
“When Stoke made the approach and Huddersfield let it be known that they were open for business, then I had absolutely no second thoughts about wanting to come here.
Most read in football
“Everything about the Club is geared up to being at the top-level, which, as we all know, is where the Club has been for a long time."
Stoke have so far managed to keep together a good amount of the squad they had in the Premier League last season, and head into the new campaign as one of the favourites for promotion.
Xherdan Shaqiri's £13m move to Liverpool is the biggest loss of the summer, but Rowett had always prepared for the Swiss star's departure.
And so far the club have managed to resist all approaches for goalkeeper Jack Butland, England's understudy to Jordan Pickford in the World Cup.
They hope to go into the season with Butland their number one, behind an experienced defence likely to be one of the toughest in the Championship.