FACTFILE: Fernando Llorente
5th August
Fernando Llorente has already made a little piece of history at Swansea City.
Never before, after all, have the Swans had a player who has lifted the World Cup and European Championships on their books.
It says much about the calibre of the Swans' new powerhouse centre-forward that he was part of a Spanish squad regarded as one of the finest international football has ever seen.
He 24 caps - and seven goals - plus a couple of mighty medals in the trophy cabinet since making his debut back in 2008.
Llorente was part of the squad who won the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, with his one tournament appearance coming in the second round against Portugal.
And he was also on board when Spain reigned again at the European Championship of 2012.
Llorente's team-mates at international level have included such stellar names as Iker Casillas, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Andres Iniesta, Xabi Alonso, Xavi, David Villa and Fernando Torres.
This is a man who has played alongside the very best - and it is not only at international level where he has enjoyed success.
There was plenty of heartache at Athletic Bilbao, the club where Llorente made his name by scoring 118 goals in 333 appearances over eight years.
Bilbao reached the 2011-12 Europa League final - with Llorente scoring in both legs of a round-of-16 win over Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United to help them get there - only to lose 3-0 to a Radamel Falcao-inspired Atletico Madrid.
Bilbao also lost in the final of that season's Copa del Rey, just as they had done in 2008-09.
There were happier times to come at Juventus, who Llorente joined when his Bilbao contract expired in 2013.
In his two full seasons in Turin, Llorente helped Juve win two Serie A titles plus one Coppa Italia.
The only disappointment during his stint in Italy came in the 2015 Champions League final, when Llorente featured as a late substitute in a 3-1 defeat by Barcelona.
After 27 goals in 91 appearances for Juve, where he played alongside the likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Carlos Tevez and Andrea Pirlo, Llorente joined Sevilla last summer despite talk of interest from Paris St Germain and Real Madrid.
The 6ft 5in line-leader scored seven goals in Sevilla colours, one of which came just minutes after he arrived as a substitute in 3-2 victory over Real Madrid last November.
And though he did not make it off the bench in the final, Llorente picked up a Europa League winner's medal courtesy of Sevilla's 3-1 victory over Liverpool in May, while defeat to Barcelona meant he finished as a runner-up in the Copa del Rey for the third time in his career.
Now, having been linked with the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in the past, Llorente is to get a first taste of English football with the Swans.
His CV suggests there may be good times ahead in SA1.
READ MORE . . .
- Llorente joins Swans
- King joins Southend on loan
- Taylor sets his goals for Swans
- Dyer wants to finish career with Swans
