Stoke City assistant Mark Bowen has revealed that manager Mark Hughes tried to sign Ibrahim Afellay during his time at Manchester City.

Stoke completed another major signing by securing the services of Dutch winger Afellay recently and his arrival has been seen as a huge boost for the Potters.

Now Hughes' number two Bowen has gone on to reveal that the manager has been an admirer of Afellay during the ex-Barcelona man's PSV Eindhoven days and added that the Welshman is delighted to finally have signed his man.

Bowen told the Stoke Sentinel: "He's obviously got a fantastic pedigree. He's been unlucky over the years with injuries and two or three really bad injuries have made his career stutter a bit. Realistically, that's one of the reasons Stoke have been able to acquire him.

"When we were at Man City, Mark tried to bring him in then, so we've finally got our man and we know the qualities he will bring. It's just a case of keeping him fit and well, but last year he played 29 times for Olympiakos and so he proved he can manage his fitness."