Tuesday was a busy day at Swansea City. Just hours after announcing Jose Manuel Flores as the first transfer of the Michael Laudrup regime, the Welsh club revealed they had also acquired the services of attacking midfielder Jonathan De Guzman. The 24-year-old arrives on a season-long loan deal from Spanish side Villarreal, with an option to make the move permanent.
De Guzman is primed to fill the vacancy created by the end of Gylfi Sigurdsson’s loan spell and has the chance to reunite with Laudrup, having played under the Dane at Mallorca a couple of season ago – a factor he admitted was key to the decision:
Once the opportunity came along to join Swansea and Michael Laudrup it was a done deal. I didn’t have to think twice about it. I’m grateful for the opportunity and grateful that the manager has acknowledged me as a player. I’m fortunate that I will be working under a good coach at Swansea who lets you be free and allows you to do what you do best. I like to attack as a midfielder, box to box, and hopefully I can add my share of goals along the way.
The Statistics
A prodigious talent, De Guzman left his home country Canada at the age of 12 to join the youth set-up at Dutch club Feyenoord. De Guzman was not allowed to appear for the first-team until the age of 18 and less than a week after that milestone birthday, he made his debut in September 2005. Despite his young age, he became an established figure in the Feyenoord first-team and his first three seasons at the club saw him make 94 appearances, scoring 20 goals and assisting a further 20. The following two campaigns were plagued with injury, however; De Guzman featured just 15 times between 2008-10, scoring three times and providing a pair of assists. Available on a free transfer, he moved to Mallorca to team up with Laudrup for the first time.
Handed a role behind a lone forward in Laudrup’s 4-2-3-1, De Guzman flourished despite his side’s poor campaign – he featured 33 times, scoring five and assisting four goals as Mallorca finished just one place above the relegation places. The following year he was snapped up by Villarreal for €8.5m but a change of manager midway through the season resulted in his game time rapidly diminishing – De Guzman ended up with just a single assist to show from his 19 appearances as the Yellow Submarine dropped out of La Liga.
The Prospects
With regards to De Guzman’s potential, much will depend on Laudrup’s ability to adapt his brand of football to the Premier League – though there’s no question the omens look good. His preferred style and team shape are similar to Brendan Rodgers’, suggesting a continuation of last season’s form may well be on the cards, with little tinkering required. Laudrup has great faith in De Guzman’s abilities and is likely to install him as a key figure within the first-team set-up; the manager explained the reasoning behind his latest acquisition to the Swansea website earlier:
He receives and moves the ball, can play in small spaces, so I think he will fit in perfectly with this team. He will suit the style here because he is used to that kind of football. He is an offensive player, but he can also play anywhere in midfield which can give you some alternatives.
De Guzman can be expected to be priced relatively low across the Fantasy games; bearing in mind Gylfi Sigurdsson was valued at 5.0 by Fantasy Premier League (FPL) in the previous campaign, there’d be no surprise to see the new boy come in at 5.5 – 6.0, now that the Swans have established themselves in the top-flight. He’s also likely to get his fair share of set-pieces; De Guzman took the vast majority of free-kicks and corners under Laudrup at Mallorca – a factor which will certainly further his appeal when assessing cut-price options for our Fantasy squads.
There’s little doubt De Guzman has a tough task ahead of him in the eyes of many Fantasy managers; living up to the exploits of Sigurdsson as Swansea’s chief creator is no easy feat but a kind opening schedule could well see him flourish. Laudrup’s men have three home clashes in the first five Gameweeks (WHM, SUN, EVE) and with trips to QPR and Villa also on the agenda, he’s set to be handed plenty opportunity to show whether he’s capable of stepping into Gylfi’s shoes in the campaign ahead.
Further Reference
Jonathan De Guzman Wikipedia
Jonathan De Guzman Statistics
Jonathan De Guzman YouTube
