Oussama Assaidi "very happy" to return to Stoke City from Liverpool

Oussama Assaidi has expressed his delight in returning to Stoke City on a season-long loan from Liverpool.

The 26-year-old was wanted by the Potters all summer, but a deal appeared to collapse until Peter Odemwingie suffered a long-term knee injury.

"People thought it might happen early in the summer, but it didn't work out like that," The Sentinel quotes Assaidi as saying. "I wasn't fit, I was in my rehab and I spoke with the club and my manager and everything. I am very happy to be here in the end.

"I was thinking I'd still be at Liverpool until January and see what happens. I didn't know what the boss there was going to do. Maybe I'd be out of the team, maybe not, but I made the decision to come to Stoke and I think that's the right decision for me."

Assaidi spent last season on loan at the Britannia, but his appearances were halted after suffering back-to-back knee injuries.