During their time in the Premier League, Swansea City were able to unearth some of the best hidden striking talent ever to grace the top flight.
Having secured the services of Michu the season before, the Welsh side further bolstered their attacking options with the acquisition of Eredivisie’s top scorer, Wilfried Bony.
The Ivorian striker proved to be a huge success during his initial 18-month spell in SA1, and he most certainly scored some goals for Swansea.
Following their League Cup success over Bradford City in the 2012/13 season, Michael Laudrup had led the Swans to European football in the new season, meaning the Liberty Stadium was an exciting prospect for potential incoming players.
Jordi Amat, Jonjo Shelvey and Wilfried Bony would be the high profile additions during the summer, with the Ivorian striker in particular exciting Swansea supporters.
Fresh from scoring 37 goals in 36 games in all competitions for Dutch side Vitesse, the striker completed the move to South Wales on a four-year deal, which was a club-record fee at the time of his arrival.
Bony would carry on his goal-scoring form into the his maiden season with England, scoring twice on his competitive debut against Malmo in the Europa League qualifying rounds, netting on his Premier League debut and also in a defeat against Manchester United.
The striker would come back to haunt the Red Devils later in the season, scoring in their FA Cup third round encounter in the 90th-minute to secure the Welsh side’s first ever win at Old Trafford, and Bony would finish the season with 26 goals in all competitions.
But the 2014/15 campaign would not start in the same manner, picking up a red card in their home defeat to Southampton while also failing to score in their six games in the league.
However, he would return among the goals soon after, scoring nine times before the turn of the year, with his last goal coming in a draw with Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road.
His performances for Swansea over the past 18 months had attracted the interest of Premier League champions, Manchester City.
The Ivorian would complete a move to the Etihad Stadium during the January transfer window, leaving the Liberty Stadium having scored 35 goals in 70 appearances in all competitions.
Wilfried Bony’s Swansea City statistics as per Transfermarkt
Season
Apps
Goals
Assists
Minutes played
2013/14
48
26
7
3,555
2014/15
22
9
2
1,327
Wilfried Bony’s move to Manchester City was one of many great pieces of business by Swansea
Swansea would agree a sale with the Citizens which would allow Bony to complete a four-and-a-half-year deal worth potentially up to £28 million, making him the most expensive African footballer at that time.
The Ivorian would not play straight away for his new club as he featured for his country in th Africa Cup of Nations, going on to win the tournament, but upon his return, would fail to hit the ground running.
An ankle problem saw him miss three games, and he would end the season with two goals in 10 appearances for his new club, but many were optimistic about the seasons to come.
His record would improve the following season, netting nine goals and grabbing six assists during the 2015/16 campaign, but following the arrival of Pep Guardiola at the Etihad, he was made available for transfer.
But Bony’s departure is yet another example of excellent business done by the Swans over the years.
The Ivorian is second on the list of the Swans’ all-time record departures from the club, featured alongside the likes Daniel James, Joe Allen, Oli McBurnie and Andre Ayew.
That money was put towards bringing some top talent to South Wales, and Swansea will feel like they certainly got the better end of the deal.
But such is that affiliation to the club, Bony would return to the club in 2017 for another two-year spell, but failed to rediscover that goal-scoring touch, and now finds himself without a club.
