Swansea City supporters will still be wondering how £15.5m signing didn't offer more: View | OneFootball

Highlights

When Swansea City supporters think of some of the Spanish players that have pulled on the white shirt over the years, they'll immediately think of the likes of Michu, Fernando Llorente, Pablo Hernandez and Angel Rangel.

There have been more however, the likes of Alejandro Pozeuelo, Alvaro Vazquez and Borja Baston have all featured for the Swans and failed to make an impact. The latter being one of the most curious signings in recent history for the Swans.

Baston joined the club from Atlético Madrid in the summer of 2016, becoming the club's record signing for a fee of £15.5 million, according to Sky Sports. The Spanish striker had played just once for the Spanish giants, instead spending his time on loan at clubs such as Murcia, Huesca, Deportivo La Coruna, Real Zaragoza, and Eibar.

It was Baston's 18 La Liga goals during the 2015/16 season for Eibar which led to the then 23-year-old signing for Swansea on a four-year deal.

How did Borja Baston perform at Swansea City?

Baston came with high expectations due to the transfer fee paid and his record in Spain, but failed to live up to those expectations.

An injury meant that Baston didn't feature for the Swans until September, a month after signing, and he struggled to ever break into the team from then. He made 20 appearances in all competitions for the club in the 2016/17 campaign, with just four league starts. He managed just one goal, coming in a 3-2 defeat away to Arsenal in October 2016.

After a disappointing first campaign in south Wales, Baston spent the 2017/18 campaign on loan at Malaga, where he scored just twice in 20 La Liga appearances. He then spent the 2018/19 campaign at Alaves, where he fared slightly better, scoring five goals in 27 La Liga games.

With a year left on his deal at Swansea, and the club in the Championship, Baston found himself back in south Wales for the start of the 2019/20 campaign. Initially spending pre-season with the club's academy sides, the Spaniard was called up to the first-team for the first league game of the season following Oli Mcburnie's departure to Sheffield United.

Incredibly, Baston scored on his second debut in a 2-1 win over Hull City and meant he had his second goal for the club 34 months after scoring his first. The striker took to the Championship like a duck to water, scoring a further five goals throughout August and September. It proved an incredible turnaround for someone who looked highly unlikely to ever play for the club again just months prior.

However, that's as good as it got for Baston at Swansea. He was dropped by the end of October after a barren spell in front of goal and struggled for starts until January. With just six months left on his deal, the Swans allowed the striker to leave on a free and he joined Aston Villa.

How has Baston performed after leaving Swansea?

He signed a short-term deal at Villa, playing just 16 minutes of football before being released at the end of the 2019/20 campaign.

From there, he returned to his native Spain, joining second division outfit, Leganes. Baston didn't fare much better there, scoring just five goals in 38 appearances during the 2020/21 season.

He went onto join fellow second division side Real Oviedo, where he had an outstanding first season, scoring 22 goals in 40 league games.

Still at Real Oviedo now, Baston followed up his impressive debut campaign at the club with a further 10 goals last season before being named club captain ahead of the 2023/24 season. Now 31-years-old, the striker has netted three goals in 15 appearances for the club so far this season.