James McClean has arrived at Stoke City’s Clayton Wood training base this morning to tie up a £5m transfer from West Brom.
The 29-year-old midfielder has been one of the names at the top of Gary Rowett’s shopping list since he was appointed manager in May.
In fact, Rowett had tried to sign the Republic of Ireland international for Derby County in January – and the player was public in his frustration when that didn’t get over the line.
Rowett believes McClean will add much-needed aggression and athleticism to his Stoke squad as he prepares to make him signing number four of the summer, following Benik Afobe, Peter Etebo and Adam Federici.
It is hoped that Tom Ince and James Chester will join him as Stoke speed up their business with just two weeks to go until the start of the Championship season.
Badou Ndiaye has joined up with his Stoke teammates in Germany this morning. The Senegal midfielder has arrived two days later than scheduled, having played for Senegal at the World Cup.
The 26-year-old has a relegation release clause believed to be around £21m and is expected to leave the club this summer. There has been interest from England and across Europe, including from Wolves and, it is reported, Newcastle Utd in the Premier League.
Most Read
McClean is expected to have been fined himself for missing training with Albion as his move to Stoke was finalised over the last couple of weeks.
He had been with the club for three years but fell out of favour last season until Darren Moore came in as manager for the final half dozen games, when form picked up markedly.
West Brom had still been unwilling to sell until they lined up a replacement and the Express and Star claim a mystery man should arrive over the next 48 hours.
But what kind of player and character would Stoke be signing? We asked Matt Wilson, the Express and Star's West Brom reporter, for his verdict.
What kind of player would Stoke be getting in James McClean?
Stoke will be getting an incredibly hard-working winger, one who leaves everything out on the pitch.
But he is also one who can infuriate at times. Five goals and seven assists from 112 Albion appearances tells its own story, McClean does not always have the end product that would have made a lethal combination with his pace and stamina.
It will be really interesting to see how he gets on in the Championship though, because it the sort of relentless league that could suit his attributes.
Don’t miss
McClean also has a habit of flying into reckless tackles and even though his passion makes him the player he is, he doesn't seem to learn from his mistakes too much. Stoke will need to be willing to take the rough with the smooth.
What about character - how have you and fans found him off the pitch as well as on it?
He is an outspoken but refreshingly honest guy in an age of anodyne media-trained footballers who also has a strong sense of community.
I personally believe he gave a very eloquent and quite reasonable response to those who criticise his decision to not wear a poppy, but his mouth does sometimes get him into trouble too.
Some of the comments he made towards the end of last season about players leaving Albion once they were relegated were almost too honest for his own good and they weren't well-received by many fans (although some did appreciate how candid he was).
But essentially, he is a passionate family man (he has three children with wife Erin) who uses his wealth to help others.
McClean regularly donates money to help those in need from the Derry community he grew up in, and last year he surprised a football team of children with Down's Syndrome by turning up to play against them.
What went wrong last season?
McClean himself believes he wasn't played enough, particularly under Alan Pardew, and considering he featured in all six of Darren Moore's games in charge, perhaps Albion did miss his bite in the tackle.
However, he made a series of high-profile errors throughout the season that cost Albion vital points at vital stages of games.
Reckless lunging fouls in the last minutes of games gave away needless free-kicks that opposition teams then scored from and he also apologised to his team-mates after turning his back in the wall against Arsenal, leading to a goal.
Following his comments last month, it became obvious that he wanted to leave. The irony is that he's joined another Championship club after saying players should be forgiven for moving back into the Premier League following relegation.
What kind of reception will he get when he goes back to the Hawthorns?
Mixed. There will be probably be some who appreciated his efforts in an Albion shirt and will politely clap, but there will also be plenty who will not have forgiven his comments made last month about being a 'snake'.
McClean has, and perhaps always will, divide opinion.