Swansea City signing was brought in to "take the pressure off" and earned the club eight figures | OneFootball

Wilfried Bony joined Swansea City to held ease the burden on Michu and he made the club big money

The 2012/13 season was a hugely successful one for Swansea City, and Michael Laudrup led the club to their first ever major trophy as they won the EFL Cup, subsequently qualifying for the Europa League.

One of the main reasons for Swansea's success during the 2012/13 campaign had been Michu's goals, with the Spaniard bagging 22 goals in all competitions, but Laudrup knew he needed further firepower in case something should happen to their main man, and because of the added demands placed on his squad with European football.

In the summer of 2013, Swansea smashed their transfer record to buy Vitesse Arnhem striker Wilfried Bony, forking out a fee of £12million to bring him to south Wales to ease the burden on Michu.

The Ivorian had never played in English football before, having spent his career prior to Swansea playing for the likes of Sparta Prague and Vitesse, so it made it a bit of a risk for the Swans, but he certainly chipped in with enough goals to take the burden off Michu, and made the club a profit too.

Wilfried Bony was brought in to take the pressure off Michu

Laudrup had made signing a quality striker a priority in the summer of 2013 after Danny Graham left in January 2013, and he was aware that Michu needed someone to help with the burden of scoring Swansea's goals.

When Bony's signing was confirmed in July 2013, the Swans boss told the club's website: "You have only got to look at Bony's record last season (31 goals in 30 league games) to see that he is certainly someone who scores goals.

"It's very simple; the most important thing in football is goals. Yes, you can be very good defensively, but if you don't score goals, then you can't win games.

"In many games last season, the goals were placed firmly on the shoulders of Michu. And while he did extremely well with 22 goals, you can't put everything on the shoulders of one man, especially when he is not regarded as a centre-forward.

"Hopefully Bony, who is very powerful, will take the pressure off and score some of those goals for us, although I am still looking for everyone in the team to chip in.''

Bony was brought in to take the pressure off Michu, and he certainly did that during the 2013/14 season, scoring 26 goals, 20 more than Michu's six goals, and in hindsight, Swansea were lucky that they signed the Ivorian as Michu endured a torrid campaign thanks to injury and subsequently left at the end of the season.

Not only had Bony taken the pressure off, but he became Swansea's main man and one of the most sought after strikers in the Premier League, and after nine goals during the first half of the 2014/15 season, he sealed a transfer worth £25million to Manchester City - making Swansea a £13m profit.

Considering the fact he'd be brought in to take the pressure off Michu, Bony certainly exceeded expectations, and he made the club a huge profit. It was good business for Swansea, but the move to City in January 2015 didn't have the desired impact for the Ivorian.

Wilfried Bony made an error joining Manchester City

Bony had developed a reputation as one of the best strikers in the league, and you can't blame him for wanting to join the Premier League champions, but it proved the wrong move in hindsight.

He desperately struggled for game time and goals, scoring just twice between his move to City and the end of the 2014/15 season, and while things did get better, scoring a respectable nine goals in all competitions the following season, he struggled for starts, making just 13 in the Premier League.

Pep Guardiola's arrival proved the end of his time at the Etihad Stadium, and he spent the 2016/17 season on loan at Stoke City, where he struggled, before sealing a move back to Swansea for the 2017/18 season, but he was nowhere near the player he was during his first stint in SA1.

With Swansea relegated to the Championship in 2018, the club offloaded him in January 2019 thanks to his hefty wages, and Bony's career since then has been nomadic.

He spent time in the Middle East with Al-Arabi and Al-Ittihad, before brief spells with Dutch side NEC Nijmegen, and Bolivian outfit Always Ready.

It's easy to forget that this was once a player who scored 26 goals in a season for Swansea City, and was the Premier League's top scorer in the 2014 calendar year with 20 goals, two more than second place Sergio Agüero.

Now, 35, Bony is without a club and his career looks over, and while he's often trained with League Two side Newport County to stay fit, a deal to join the Welsh side has never materialised.

In hindsight, Bony's career was on a downward trajectory as soon as he left for Manchester City in 2015, and while his second spell at Swansea wasn't a success, he's still fondly remembered in SA1.

His first spell at the club put him up there with Swansea's greatest ever strikers, not too bad for someone who was brought in to take the pressure off Michu.