Federico Fernandez has signed for Swansea City from Serie A side Napoli for a fee in the region of £7mil. The Welsh side have been a long admirer of the Argentine and have pursued him for much a summer before he signed on the dotted line for the Swans.
The World Cup runner-up made 4 appearances during the World Cup and he has been seen as a replacement for Spaniard, Chico Flores.
The defender though did some thorough research before he made the switch to the Liberty Stadium. He spoke to Amat, Michu, and Vazquez, but he was also impressed when the two sides met in the Europa League last season.
He said: “It has always been my dream to play in the Premier League – it is the best in the world – and I’m grateful to Swansea for giving me this opportunity,” said the 25-year-old.
“I asked Michu and Jordi Amat about the club. I obviously trained with Michu at Napoli and while I was on loan at Getafe (in 2013) I played with Alvaro Vazquez. He is very good friends with Jordi, so I’ve spoken to them too.
“Michu told me it is a family club and the city is very relaxed. He said I was joining a very good club. All I've heard are good things about Swansea.”
“I saw a team that holds the ball and plays very good football. It caught my attention,” said Fernandez of the Swans.
“I can identify myself with the Swansea style – I like to play the ball from the back and, of course, I love to defend too.
“And I was impressed again last weekend with the team’s performance and result against Manchester United.
“It was a very intelligent performance – the team really took its opportunities and it was a fantastic start to the season.
“I just can’t wait to start training and playing games.”