Spanish striker Borja Baston has today completed his club record £15.5m move from Atletico Madrid to Swansea City.
The striker, who was on loan at Eibar last season, completed his medical yesterday before being unveiled at the Liberty Stadium.
The news will be welcomed by Swansea fans, who have lost last season’s top scorer in Andre Ayew and their club captain in Ashley Williams, in just a matter of days.
Baston’s fee surpasses that of Wilfried Bony, who was Swansea’s previous record fee having been signed from Vitesse for £12m in 2013.
Who is Borja Baston?
The forward has been at Atletico Madrid since he was four years old, but has only made one senior appearance for Diego Simeone’s side and has fallen below Antoine Griezmann, Kevin Gameiro, Fernando Torres, Angel Correa and Santos Borre in the pecking order.
Baston has been sent on numerous loans, but his first in the Spanish top flight came last season at Eibar. He scored 18 goals in 36 games, and won the league’s Player of the Month award for October.
He spent the previous season on loan at second division side Real Zaragoza, where he scored 22 goals in 38 games and was included in the league’s Team of the Season.
The quotes
After Swansea’ pre-season win over Stade Rennais, manager Francesco Guidolin spoke about the imminent signing of Baston.
"I was happy with the squad before but I am more happy now because, with Fernando Llorente and Borja Baston," said Swansea head coach Francesco Guidolin.
"I think we have signed two good players, two very important players."
How does he fit in at Swansea?
Baston joins fellow Spaniard Fernando Llorente in making a summer move to Swansea, but it isn’t thought that the two will play as a pair.
While the two are more than capable of playing together, using a two-striker formation would likely relegate Gylfi Sigurdsson to a place on one of the wings, which surely isn’t going to happen considering his excellent form since Guidolin’s appointment.
Seeing as Baston is Swansea’s new record signing, he will start over Llorente in a 4-2-3-1, with Sigurdsson behind him and two of Jefferson Montero, Wayne Routledge, Modou Barrow or Nathan Dyer on the flanks.
Llorente is more likely to start on the opening day against Burnley, as he has had more time to gel with his new teammates and had about an hour’s gametime in pre-season for Swansea.
Baston is Swansea’s fifth summer signing, following arrivals of Llorente, Leroy Fer, Mike van der Hoorn and Mark Birighitti.