£2m Swansea City player investment will never be forgotten: View | OneFootball

Despite now being a mid-table Championship side, Swansea City have been on quite the journey over the last 20 years.

On the final day of the 2002/03 season, then fourth-tier Swansea recorded a 4-2 win over Hull City to avoid relegation to the National League and just eight years later, they were beating Reading by that same 4-2 scoreline in the Championship play-off final to win promotion to the Premier League.

Swansea would spend seven years in the Premier League, winning a League Cup and playing in the Europa League along the way, in what was a truly memorable period in the club's history.

The club had some great players in this period, none more so than Spanish striker Michu.

Signed from Rayo Vallecano in the summer of 2012 for a fee of just £2million, it's no exaggeration to say that he became one of European football's hottest properties in the season that followed, proving to be one of the best bargains in Premier League history.

After a successful first season in the Premier League where they had finished 11th, Swansea were tipped to struggle during the 2012/13 season after losing manager Brendan Rodgers and Joe Allen to Liverpool, whilst Scott Sinclair also departed for Manchester City that summer.

However, Michael Laudrup was appointed as the new Swans boss, and he used his knowledge of La Liga to bring Michu to the club.

The Spaniard couldn't have asked for a better start at Swansea, and he scored twice on his debut in a 5-0 win away to QPR - silencing any doubters the club had about Laudrup's appointment.

Things would continue to get better for Michu, and he followed up his debut brace with goals against West Ham and Sunderland in the weeks that followed.

The Spaniard would continue to impress, and bagged further goals in the league against Reading and Wigan, along with a late winner in a League Cup tie with Crawley Town.

Michu would score five goals in three Premier League games at the beginning of December, scoring braces against Norwich and Arsenal, and one against West Brom.

He was proving to be a revelation for £2million, and he would help Swansea reach their first ever major final with a goal sealing a 2-0 win away to Chelsea in the League Cup semi-final.

A great first season with the Swans was capped off with a League Cup final goal as they hammered Bradford City 5-0 in the final at Wembley, sealing European football for the following campaign.

After the success at Wembley, Michu somewhat tailed off, but he finished his debut season with 22 goals in 43 appearances, including 18 in the Premier League, which put him fifth in the league's top scorers chart - not bad for £2million.

However, he'd struggle with injuries the following season, and would only manage six goals in 24 appearances, with just two of them in the league. His last goal came in October 2013, with the player really struggling for fitness after Christmas.

The ex-Rayo Vallecano man would win his one and only cap for Spain in October 2013, with the thought of a Swansea City player representing Spain still an alien thought to many of the Jack Army.

Despite perhaps being a one-and-a-half season wonder, Michu will go down as one of Swansea's greatest ever signings, and for a period in 2012/13, most clubs in Europe would have taken him in their squad.

Michu's career after Swansea City

Michu joined Napoli on loan for the 2014/15 season, but his time in Italy was hampered by injuries.

This was the tale of Michu's career after Swansea, and after making just six appearances in Naples, he had his Swansea contract terminated in November 2015, with the player unable to stay fit.

From there, he joined Spanish amateur side Langreo, before having one last forray in the professional game with Spanish second-tier side Real Oviedo during the 2016/17 season.

Fitness was again an issue for Michu, and he managed just three goals in 27 appearances for the club.

At 31, Michu announced his retirement in the summer of 2017 due to ongoing ankle issues, with the player saying in 2022 that his ankle is like that of a 90-year-old.

However, he's stayed involved in the game, and is currently sporting director at Spanish club Burgos CF.

Michu's stay at Swansea may have only been two years long, but he'll always be remembered by supporters for leading the club to their first piece of major silverware, and his remarkable 22-goal season after paying a nominal fee to bring him to the club.