Stoke City have signed John Guidetti on loan from Manchester City as well as the permanent signing of Stephen Ireland from Aston Villa.

Guidetti is on loan at Stoke City for the rest of the season. The striker is highly-regarded by Manchester City supporters who have long romanticized about how good of a footballer he is, but both former manager Roberto Mancini and current manager Manuel Pellegrini never seemed to give him much of a chance. When he was on loan at Feyenoord, he scored 20 goals in 23 appearances.

Now on loan at Stoke, he’s got the perfect opportunity to earn some playing time to show City and the rest of the league whether he’s nearly as good as he’s supposed to be.

Meanwhile, journeyman midfielder Stephen Ireland has secured a permanent deal from Aston Villa to Stoke City. The Republic of Ireland international had been on a season-long loan deal from Villa, but the loan deal has been turned into a permanent transfer.

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