Swansea City have completed a permanent move for FC Porto midfielder Stephen Eustaquio. The Canadian international has signed a two-year deal with the Swans for an undisclosed fee understood to be around £3m.
World Cup captain joins Swans
Eustaquio is Swansea's seventh signing of the summer and the latest World Cup star to link up with Vitor Matos. He captained Canada at the recent World Cup and scored a crucial goal against South Africa to help send his side to the last 16 of the competition.
The 29-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan at MLS side LAFC but arrives at the Swans having spent four-and-a-half years with Porto. In total he made nearly 150 appearances for the Portuguese giants and featured in the Champions League and Europa League.
Career background
Born in Canada to Portuguese parents, his other previous clubs include Nazarenos, Torreense, Leixoes, Chaves, Mexican side Cruz Azul and Pacos Ferreira. Eustaquio represented Portugal at youth level but opted to represent Canada at senior level. He has since made 61 appearances for his country, scoring five goals.
His capture will come as a boost to Matos, who was keen on adding more depth to his midfield options following the departures of Ethan Galbraith and Brighton loanee Malick Yalcouye.
Manager and sporting director reaction
Speaking on Eustaquio's arrival, Matos said: "Stephen is an experienced leader who possesses great technical quality and game understanding. His qualities will complement the options we already have available to us in midfield, and he is an incredible professional. He is going to be an important player for us, on and off the pitch, and I am sure our fans are going to enjoy watching him play for Swansea City."
Sporting director Ben Stevens added: "It's great that we have been able to attract a player of Stephen's calibre. His footballing path has shown his desire to succeed, highlighted by his performance at this year's World Cup with Canada. Stephen suits Vitor's football philosophy and will add quality on and off the pitch, we are excited to see him perform."
