Swansea City have completed the signing of experienced center-back Ricardo Santos on a free transfer.
Santos has signed a two-year deal at the club, having left Bolton Wanderers as a free agent earlier in the summer.
The Portugal-born defender spent five years with Wanderers, making 207 appearances for the club, and was also made captain in October 2021.
Starting his career with Dagenham and Redbridge, he was handed his chance in the EFL by Peterborough United in 2014.
After making 75 appearances for Posh, he then spent a three-year spell at Barnet before going on to Bolton, whom he helped to promote from League Two.
He will become the third signing of the summer and fourth new arrival in SA1, with Melker Widell, Zeidane Inoussa, and Bobby Wales already joining the club’s ranks.
Commenting on the move to Swansea, head coach Alan Sheehan said, “We are very pleased to welcome Ricardo to Swansea City. He is an experienced player who is well-versed in the demands of playing in the EFL.
“He is a player I have known about for a long time and someone we believe is capable of making the step up to Championship level.
“There were a number of clubs interested in securing his services, and we are delighted he has chosen Swansea City.”
Director of Football Richard Montague said, “We have identified certain areas of the squad where we recognize there is a need to have greater depth and competition, and we believe the addition of Ricardo will help us do that defensively.
“He has considerable experience in the EFL, and the fact he has been on the team of the year for his division in four of the last five seasons speaks to his consistency.
“We believe his character and leadership will be a welcome addition to the squad, and we are looking forward to him linking up with Alan and the team for the start of pre-season.”
Global head of analytics and recruitment Adam Worth added, “As a club, we have identified the need to have a blend of youth and experience within the senior squad, and Ricardo brings no shortage of knowledge of the EFL.
“He has been a proven leader at his previous clubs, and we believe he can be an important presence within the squad and add to the defensive options available to Alan Sheehan and his coaching staff.”
Montague had already revealed that Santos is a player who has been on the radar for some time.
“He’s a player we have liked as a group for a long time. The data over the years has been very strong,” he said.
“I think it’s fair to say he didn’t have the best year last year, but our job is to try to look beyond that and ascertain where there might be value for money in bringing a player in.
“Rico is being brought in as a player who adds some more leadership, having been a captain of his club, a brilliant character we have all met and had conversations with.
It’s understood the move for Santos is not related to Darling’s situation, with adding further center-back options already a key priority in this window.
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“We think he is someone who can add really good depth to an area of the pitch where we don’t have much depth at all at the moment.
“I think it’s what he can add on and off the pitch. We think he will elevate the group by virtue of being who he is, being who is around the building.”
His arrival is expected to add much-needed cover at center-back ahead of the new season, with Ben Cabango currently the only recognized senior option on the books following the departures of Kyle Naughton, Hannes Delcroix, and Cyrus Christie. Sign up to our Swansea City newsletter here
There’s also uncertainty around Harry Darling’s future, with the 25-year-old out of contract this summer.
Darling is still pondering over an improved offer from the club, with Norwich City, Birmingham City, Wrexham, and Sheffield United all keeping tabs on the situation.
Reports in Scotland have also suggested that new Rangers boss Russell Martin might well be tempted to make a move too.
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