...what a difference a month or so makes!
When Federico Fernandez was sitting on the bench watching his teammates take on Germany in the World Cup final, he probably wasn't envisaging his next competitive match would be in Wales playing for Swansea City. He almost certainly wasn't imagining he'd be lining up against Rotherham United.
That's not a slight on Rotherham though. In truth I doubt he knew much more about the Swans than he did Rotherham, other than we'd been in the Europa League against his previous employers Napoli. Either way, he looks set to get his full debut tonight along with a few other summer signings, and I for one can't wait to see him play.
Personally I regard his signature as a massive coup. Man Utd signed his compatriot Rojo, who plays the same position, for double the money we spent on Fernandez (we paid £8million give or take, depending on who you believe) - it's hard to see how we haven't played a blinder here. If Fernandez even looks half decent he'll more than hold his value, and given he's only twenty-five there's every reason to believe he'll continue to feature for his national side too. Eight million for a current Argentinian international centre-back who's probably got another seven or eight years left (minimum) at the top level? Great effort by the board.
The same could also be said of Jefferson Montero, who is also in line for a start tonight. Impressive for Ecuador at the World Cup, he looks likely to be let off the leash tonight and I'm expecting him to terrorise the Rotherham defence. The guy is lightning. We could also see Josh Sheehan and Alex Bray - both youth products - featuring as neither played for the under-21's last night. It'd be great to see youth being given more of a chance, and Monk seems intent on doing just that.
Back to Fernandez though, and what Monk said at the fans' forum about the club being an attraction to top players is vindicated completely by this transfer. A club with no international pulling power wouldn't be able to sign a player of Fernandez's calilbre, that's for sure.
I for one can't wait to see him line up for the Swans. I still can't get my head around us signing a current Argentinian international centre-back. Does that not seem a bit far-fetched to anyone else?!
As Fatboy Slim could tenuously say in reference to the Swans: "You've come a long way, baby."