The Netherlands international joined the Potters on a season-long loan from Porto during the summer transfer window.
Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has been delighted with the impact of loan signing Bruno Martins Indi, with the Welshman telling the Stoke Sentinel that the Potters may look to sign the Netherlands international on a permanent basis during the January transfer window.
Martins Indi moved to the Bet365 Stadium on a year-long loan from Porto over the summer, after being deemed surplus to requirements at the Estádio do Dragão by the Portugese side’s new manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
The 24-year-old initially struggled to get to grips with the cut and thrust of top-flight English football, as a dreadful start to the 2015/16 campaign left Stoke languishing at the foot of the Premier League table. However the burly Dutch centre-back has been outstanding in recent weeks and his drastic upturn in form has coincided with the current six-game unbeaten streak which has seen Hughes’ Potters climb up to 12th in the table.
Stoke have conceded just four goals during their impressive unbeaten run, and former Wales manager Hughes believes that the Potters’ renewed rearguard resilience is largely down to the blossoming relationship between Martins Indi and skipper Ryan Shawcross.
“We’ve been really impressed with Bruno,” Hughes told the Stoke Sentinel.
“Not only his technical ability, but the way he’s forging a relationship with Ryan has certainly helped in recent results and performances.
“It’s no coincidence that we seem to have a pairing that looks comfortable together and long may that continue.
“I think we like Bruno as a guy as well. He’s got a really infectious personality and is really liked within the group, which is always a bonus.
“We are pleased with how it’s progressing and at some point in the future we are sure to see if we can speak about maybe making this loan something more permanent.
“That’s where we feel it’s going to go if he continues to play as well as he has and has the impact he’s having at the moment.
“If he continues in the same vain, it’s certainly something we will look to make more permanent.”
Martins Indi’s recent performances for Stoke have been of such a high calibre that they have earned the Dutchman a recall to the Netherlands squad for forthcoming games against Belgium and Luxembourg after a 14-month absence from international football.
Securing the Porto defender on a permanent basis would represent another significant transfer coup for Hughes, who has gained a reputation for rehabilitating some of European football’s wayward young prospects in recent seasons.
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