"I look at those two" - Michu and two more Swansea City players named in transfer masterstroke debate | OneFootball

FLW's Swansea City fan pundit discussed some of the club's finest transfer dealings in living memory

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

The names of Michu, Leon Britton and Angel Rangel are all etched in history at Swansea City, and the trio have been labeled as the club's three finest transfer masterstrokes.

Swansea's emphatic journey from the depths of League Two arguably peaked during the 2012/13 campaign, which saw the Welsh side record a ninth-placed finish in the Premier League and qualify for the UEFA Europa League after winning their first-ever piece of major silverware in the form of the EFL Cup.

One player synonymous with the success delivered through that season was Michu, who joined as a largely-unknown quantity from Rayo Vallecano in a meager £2 million deal but ignited the top-flight with an 18-goal haul in his debut campaign.

Widely dubbed a "one-season wonder", injuries ensured that was as good as it ever got for the Spanish sensation, who was forced into a premature retirement, but his explosive impact remains fondly remembered by the Jack Army faithful to this day.

Nor is it forgotten who helped Swansea on their journey either, helping the club to get into a position to attract and enjoy top-class talent like Michu in the first place. No player has made more appearances for Swansea since the turn of the millennium than Britton, who featured on 460 occasions between 2002 and 2018.

Rangel, meanwhile, is remembered as a Swans legend in his own right. The Spanish defender made the move to SA1 in 2007 and spent eleven years with Swansea, helping them on their rise from English football's third-tier to the heights of the Europa League.

Michu labelled as Swansea City transfer masterstroke

FLW asked our Jack Army fan pundit, Will Hughes, to put forward his view on the club's finest transfer masterstroke.

Firstly, Will outlined the memorable impact of Michu, who undeniably returned great value for money as far as Swansea were concerned - even if they would have loved more than anything for him to have featured more after his debut campaign.

"There are one or two that I would put in this, for different reasons," Will told FLW.

"I can't just name one, in fact there are three that come to mind.

"The first, I think most Swansea fans would say is a legend, is Michu. He had that one season before he completely ripped his ankle apart and wasn't able to play again.

"He was, in my opinion, the best striker in the division. He was absolutely fantastic, the best value striker in the division you could say. £2 million from Spain, initially playing as a second striker, moved him further forward and, my word, what a player.

"20+ goals, delivered us European football, got us our first major trophy, could score with either foot, good in the air, skillful, could score from anywhere, played with passion. Just an all-round fantastic player.

"Of course, you may look back in hindsight and think we should've sold him at the end of his first season. We didn't want to sell him and nobody foresaw him getting the injuries he did.

"I hate that people call him a one-season wonder because even in the following season he started picking up and scoring goals, then he got that horrible injury against Cardiff and, with the form of Wilfried Bony, we had to move him back into the number 10 role when he came back fit and he wasn't the same.

"In fairness, the start of the season he would be playing as the striker then he dropped down to the 10 so he never had one of the positions nailed down. To me, he was always a striker as opposed to a 10, so I think there were various factors that caused him to be a "one-season wonder".

"In terms of what he delivered for us that year, £2m is an absolute bargain.

Angel Rangel and Leon Britton also named as Swansea City transfer masterstrokes

Michu was an obvious, though entirely understandable, pick. Will, however, did not forget about players like Rangel and Britton, who he both also labelled alongside Michu as the club's best ever signings.

Swansea reportedly paid just £10,000 for Rangel's services, while Britton joined on a free transfer, and both represented incredibly shrewd value by measure of their shared long-term influence, engraving their names in modern-day history at the club.

"Then the other two I look at, one was signed for £10,000 and the other was a free transfer. £10,000 was paid for Angel Rangel and the free transfer was Leon Britton," Will continued.

"I look at those two and I think of longevity from the pair of them. Britton was signed in 2003, Rangel signed in 2007 - you look at the sort of money in the game now, £10,000 for one player and a free transfer is nothing.

"It wasn't a lot back then, in fairness. But for those two to go on and do what they did - Britton playing in every division for us from League Two up and then Rangel playing from League One up - and then both of them competing in the Premier League and Europe, winning the League Cup, seven seasons in the Premier League consistently, that for me is fantastic.

"The word is in the question - masterstroke. It's different to the situation with Michu because he was a goalscorer and we were at the top of our game that season, for Rangel and Britton to come in in the lower leagues for the money we spent and do what they did and become the legends they did, you can't look past those two.