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Stoke City have announced two signings ahead of their participation in the Barclays Asia Trophy 2015.
Shay Given, the goalkeeper, has joined on a two-year deal from Aston Villa, while Marco van Ginkel will move from Chelsea to the Britannia Stadium on a season-long loan. Both players will now fly out to Singapore to join their new team-mates while they prepare for the Barclays Asia Trophy’s opening match against Everton on 15 July.
Given, 39, has appeared 443 times in the Barclay Premier League for Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United, Manchester City and Aston Villa. He will be joining up again with Mark Hughes, the Stoke manager, who was in charge of the Irishman at Man City.
"I know Shay particularly well from our time together at Manchester City and I'm really looking forward to working with him again,” Hughes told stokecityfc.com. "He will not only be a great asset on the pitch as an outstanding goalkeeper but he's also a fantastic character to have in the dressing room and around the club – a true professional."
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Van Ginkel returns to the Barclays Premier League after a season on loan at AC Milan. The 22-year-old central midfielder joined Chelsea two years ago from Vitesse Arnhem in his native Netherlands and appeared twice in the BPL during 2013/14 before a knee injury curtailed his season. He will strengthen the Stoke midfield after the sale of Steven N'Zonzi to Sevilla this week.
"Marco is the kind of player we have been looking to bring to the Club," Hughes said. "He will bring great energy to the side and is capable of scoring goals from midfield, as he showed during his time with Vitesse.
"I'm looking forward to him linking up with the squad in Singapore and getting the chance to work with him on the training ground and see him in action in the Barclays Asia Trophy."
Source: premierleague.com