Swansea boss Laudrup makes double swoop
Michael Laudrup made his first signings as Swansea manager on Tuesday, completing a £2 million ($3.1 million) swoop for Genoa defender Jose Manuel Flores and taking Jonathan de Guzman on a season-long loan from Villarreal. Flores, who is often known by his nickname Chico, agreed a three-year contract with the Premier League club after completing a medical and will link up with his new team-mates subject to international clearance. The 25-year-old's arrival marks the start of Laudrup's rebuilding work at the Liberty Stadium after the former Barcelona and Real Madrid star's surprise appointment as successor to Brendan Rodgers. Laudrup knows Flores well after working with the Spanish centre-back during his spell in charge at Real Mallorca. "He was one of the main reasons I signed. He knows me as a person and a player, so I was honoured when the call came," Flores said. "I believe the manager will be good for Swansea and they have done extremely well to get him. Swansea's way of playing is the same style as he wants to play the game. He is the right person to take this club forward. "I am very happy to be here. I know I am joining a club that has been growing over the last few years and is still ambitious to go even higher." Flores, a former Spain Under-21 international, started his career with his hometown club Cadiz and had numerous loan spells before joining Almeria. He made a £4 million switch to Genoa in 2010 but returned to Spain for a loan spell with Mallorca last season. Like Flores, former Holland Under-21 international De Guzman worked with Laudrup at Mallorca and is looking forward to being re-acquainted with the Dane in south Wales. "Once the opportunity came along to join Swansea and Michael Laudrup it was a done deal. I didn't have to think twice about it," he said. Canada-born De Guzman joined Dutch club Feyenoord's youth academy and played over 100 games for the Rotterdam club before linking up with Laudrup at Mallorca in 2010. The 24-year-old, who opted to represent Holland after he gained Dutch citizenship in 2008, was sold to Villarreal in August 2011.
