Such figures are now in line with top players Xherdan Shaqiri and Giannelli Imbula, stars who cost Stoke far more than the reported £2 million they shelled out for Arnautovic.
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Stoke are bidding for their fourth straight win over Everton – and their second league double in a row – after a 4-3 thriller at Goodison Park in December.
And even though Stoke City have clearly taken a huge risk in yet another record-breaking capture down at the Britannia Stadium this January, Giannelli Imbula does in-fact look like he’ll one day blossom into a fantastic new addition for the Potters.
“I just knew that in pre-season when we faced Porto that he played really, really well”, Muniesa said.
But it is at the back where this weekend’s match may be decided, given Philipp Wollscheid (calf), Ryan Shawcross (back), Geoff Cameron (ankle) could all be absent for the hosts, while long-term knee injury victim Marc Wilson is certain to miss out.
“We still think we have something we can offer him he will be delighted with”.
“We are very hopeful Marko will be a big part of what we are doing going forward, and I think that is what he would like”.
Classy Porto went on to win 3-0 – and now Stoke have lost their last two league games by the same scoreline, at Leicester and Manchester United. A three-game winless streak in the league has seen Stoke slide down the table to 10th, but now they have a chance to jump as high as seventh if they can pick up three points against Roberto Martinez’s side.
“He’s a good player and itching to get involved and it’s my intention to involve him at some stage”.
Everton are not without fitness problems of their own, as they wait on the availability of striker Romelu Lukaku (knock) and defender John Stones (hamstring).
“We’re not going to rely on clean sheets to win football games, but if we defend well it’s going to help us manage games and get the results that the performances deserve”.
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-The Potters have failed to score in any of their last three Premier League games – they have not gone four top-flight games in succession without scoring since March 1985 (eight games).
