Stoke City have confirmed their signing of former Town skipper Jon Walters on a four-year deal and have revealed that the fee is £2.75 million rising to £3.25 million on appearances. The Potters were initially linked with a move for the 26-year-old two years ago.

Stoke boss Tony Pulis said: "I have been looking to bring more goals to the squad and Jon certainly fits that bill.

"He has been one of the outstanding performers in the Championship over the past three years and I am confident the lad can make the same sort of impact in the Premier League now that he has been given this opportunity.

"The fact that he is versatile will increase competition for places in the squad which is something we have been looking to achieve."

Walters says he is delighted to make the switch: "It's always good to know that a manager has that faith in your ability and that was certainly an influence on my decision to come here.

"I am excited about moving here and it is the fulfilment of a long term goal of mine to get back into the Premier League.

"I had a sniff of it in my time at Bolton, but I knew that in dropping down the leagues, it would take a lot of hard work to get back there one day.

"I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Ipswich, especially being the captain of the club, but this was the opportunity I had been working towards and I'm glad it's come at a club like Stoke."

Town chief executive Simon Clegg paid tribute to Walters's time at Portman Road: “I would like to thank Jon for the hard work, commitment and professionalism he has shown on the pitch during his career at Portman Road.

“Recognising that every player’s dream is to play in the Premier League we are delighted that Jon has achieved this goal and we wish him every success at his new club.

“I am sure our supporters will see that this is very good business for the club, one of the most significant transfer deals in the club’s history, and will join us in sending their best wishes to Jon for his future career.”

On Friday, QPR made a bid for Walters but the former Republic of Ireland B international, who comes from Birkenhead, has long been understood to want a move back to the north.

Photo: Action Images

TractorRoyNo1 added 18:05 - Aug 18 Good bloke, good player, good money, good deal!
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Egg100s added 18:07 - Aug 18 Jon played his best footie under Jim Magilton. when he played regularly on the wing - obviously been on the wane last year. Done well for us considering we only paid peanuts for him. All The Best Jon
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Wickets added 18:10 - Aug 18 Perhaps we should buy the much maligned Jim Magilton, a pint cos it was him who bought him, for next to nowt. And to think some on here called him DIM!!!
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B1TFC added 18:11 - Aug 18 Stoke boss Tony Pulis said: "I have been looking to bring more goals to the squad and Jon certainly fits that bill. errrrrrrrr, no he doesnt!!! goals in the championship does not mean goals in the premiership!! and as there was only 8 last season, that probably means 2 in the premiership!! Prove me wrong Jon, that way Stoke mugs will play you more and we'll get ALL our cash!!

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BlueJewells added 18:12 - Aug 18 Good Ridence
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sheepdags added 18:21 - Aug 18 Good point Wickets, Jim was a shrewd operator in the transfer market if you look at his record - shame you couldn't say the same about him as a tactician but he was a rookie manager who could come good given time.
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corshamblue added 18:45 - Aug 18 Good Luck Jon. With Cardiff under close inspection from the FA for signing Bellamy and still owing Motherwell Dosh! Wouldn't be a bad time for another cheeky offer for Chopra?
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Mark added 18:56 - Aug 18 Brilliant price. Up to now I have been unsure we would really get £3M, especially after the bust up with Keane was made public and it was clear we needed to move him out. It was a shame his time here ended as it did as he was always a hard worker for the team, but this money with someone below his best the last two years and with limited pace is superb. Haha...more comments about this freeing up the money to bring in Chopra, but haven't we thought that each time the last 15 players left? So, we're down to Wickham (only 17 and injured currently), Priskin (2 league goals for us in over a year), Stead (transfer listed and being pushed out and Counago (totally out of the picture) as our strike force. We so badly need two or three quality additions up front. ACTION PLEASE CLEGG AND KEANE!!

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corshamblue added 18:58 - Aug 18 ^^ Correction on above, FA have yet to sanction his move based on Cardiff being able to pay his wages when they still owe money elsewhere, seems Motherwell are a little miffed and lodged a formal complaint ! £3.6m for Chopra. Done. COYB
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h32 added 19:01 - Aug 18 This club certainly has it's fair share of moron support - anyone who can say that Jon Walters has not done this club proud is nothing other than just that. Good Riddance messages to him - ARE A DISGRACE. He has ambition as all players should and he wants to play at a higher level - for whatever reason, and as captain he should know better than most, he clearly feels he has a better chance of doing just that elsewhere. I wonder why ?? Now we have 'the money', and not the player, let's see how many players that are currently in the frame, queue up to sign for us !!!! Hope they do - but I am not holding my breath on it happening. Again, I wonder why ??

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ChambersM added 19:07 - Aug 18 “I am sure our supporters will see that this is very good business for the club, one of the most significant transfer deals in the club's history, and will join us in sending their best wishes to Jon for his future career.” Not sure about that last bit cleggy, there are some pathetic fans out there.
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reuser90 added 19:07 - Aug 18 Buy Jon, thanks for the good times, but hey what a great bit of buisiness!! If this has been the stumbling block to us not bringing any body in, well over to you Mr Clegg! let's hope it sets the wheels in motion. does anyone think the Chopra deal is dead in the water?
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harlingblue added 19:09 - Aug 18 Hard worker, poor Captain,...probably his wife is the boss of his household?... good business by ITFC...we gave him the chance of a taste of the so called promised land.
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h32 added 19:16 - Aug 18 SIMPLIFIED:- FAR MORE PLAYERS WANT TO LEAVE HERE - THAN TO ARRIVE HERE. There for all to see and hear - but I sincerely hope it changes real soon, for everyones sake.
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SiBo added 19:18 - Aug 18 Very, very good money for Walters... As a town fan I am really happy about this deal... now let's see some coming in... The Scotland deal is annoying... by all accounts all done and dusted then Wigan pull the plug! Probably want their new manager to decide as I suspect we will have the first Managerial casualty when Wigan get stuffed by Chelsea at the weekend...
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alfromcol added 19:55 - Aug 18 Pulis is a good spotter of talent " "I have been looking to bring more goals to the squad and Jon certainly fits that bill." Not if he performs as last season. Can't see him making more than a handful of appearances for Stoke and after that a drift into oblivion
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slowerball added 19:57 - Aug 18 Jon didn't really hit the heights expected last year - but is and always will be a hard working grafter who has some ability and has developed whilst with us. Good luck to him. He's owes us nothing - he's going to a Prem side - not a rival team like Boro or QPR. And as we paid £100k and will receive upto £3.25m - it is good business. He won us a few games, scored some great goals and was a decent find and a very decent player. Will he make it in the Prem? Who knows - shame he's not trying it with us.

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blueisblue added 20:03 - Aug 18 I'm happy a deal has been done now with walters , so can we get a player or two in now, and get on with things.
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Pajero1us added 20:04 - Aug 18 seems like all the youngsters are going, and Keane is bringing in all the old player???
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ramseyn added 20:21 - Aug 18 Cardiff are expecting money from somewhere in the next few days. Their representative on tv last night responding to motherwells claim for the cash said they'd be in a position to clear it up within the next seven days. Who knows??
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bluewein added 20:21 - Aug 18 Muhrensleftfoot - With regards to Civelli, i'd rather he came back when HE was ready. It's not a nice injury to get over. He will return though!!! As for Walters, ta for the service, but when you say your glad your chance has come at a team like Stoke..... Well I just can't take you seriously pal. TTFN. See you in a couple of years! COYB!!!!
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runaround added 20:31 - Aug 18 Great deal for ITFC as i feel Stoke have paid well over the odds for him based on the last 2 seasons performances. I echo many others comments on here about the money now being used to bring in the firepower we so desperately need. I am somewhat concerned about Clegg/Evans transfer negotiations thus far with the number of deals which seem to stagnate or fall through. They must get it right in next fortnight or we will be woefully short in certain areas of the team, especially if Stead goes.

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jas0999 added 20:35 - Aug 18 Good deal all round. Good luck to Jon. He served the club well BUT in my opinion is over rated. You can't deny him a chance of PL football, but equally if a player wants to leave it is absolutely right to let him move on.
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Dorsetblue added 20:58 - Aug 18 good luck to him. He was a good player and a good deal. What ever you say he was a good player and a good servant of the club so dont slag the bloke off. He has gone for better money and a better club than us presently!
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MyBlueHeaven added 21:00 - Aug 18 would like to think the club will give any sell-on fee to Chester FC (the new chester city), but this now being a Marcus Evans business rather than a football club i think it highly unlikely. good though to see Clegg's still at ITFC - rolled out for a quote every couple of weeks it seems. has he done anything since talking about ticket prices for friendles a couple of weeks ago? as for some of the posts here saying Walters is an average player.... do these people know anything about football and/or watch us play? magilton rated him... keane rated him... warnock wanted him... and pullis reckons he's been best player in championship for last 3 seasons. ok, so perhaps not a world beater but when the professionals rate him then i think that makes him better than 'average',

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