A Few Thoughts On Napoli's New Signing Michu

Napoli announced yesterday the signing of Miguel Pérez Cuesta, best known as Michu, on a season-long loan from Swansea where he spent his last two campaigns.

The 28-year-old versatile Spanish forward joined the Swans by the hand of former Danish superstar player Michael Laudrup who was at the helm of the team back then and he caused an immediate impact both at Swansea and at the English Premier League. During his first season with the Welsh team, Michu netted in 22 goals in 43 matches and he managed to impress everyone with his refined finishing skills and versatility. It was a fantastic move from Michael Laudrup, since the Swans only paid something like £2 million to Rayo Vallecano for his transfer.

Despite the instant glory he achieved during his first year at the English Premier League, things didn’t go as smoothly for Michu last year. The arrival of Wilfried Bony, a complicated injury and the departure of Michael Laudrup left Michu on a fragile position at the club and allegedly he requested to leave during the winter transfer window. It didn’t happen back in January but it happened now and Michu will have an excellent opportunity to relaunch his career at one of the most important Italian teams, where he will link up with his fellow countrymen Rafa Benitez, José Callejón, and Raul Albiol.

Michu spent a great deal of his career at Celta de Vigo and it was probably during the time he spent there that his skills started to draw the attention of other clubs. After his contract with the Galician team expired back in 2011, he joined the newly promoted Rayo Vallecano at the Spanish top tier and that move would prove to be vital for the major boost his career had. Michu’s stint at the Madrid club was somehow remarkable as he netted in 17 goals in 39 matches and he put up some top quality performances to go with them. Michu was the fourth best Spanish top scorer of the tournament from a list led by the usual suspects (Leo Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Radamel Falcao), which may be considered an impressive deed if one keeps in mind that his team, Rayo Vallecano, ended up on the 15th place of the league table.

Michu is a fantastic footballer and although he was never a pure “number 9” or an old school centre forward if you prefer, his impressive finishing, heading and off the ball skills have allowed him to become a prolific goal scorer. His new adventure at San Paolo will serve for him to prove that last season’s injury didn’t mame, by any means, all the quality he has displayed in the recent past.