Swansea City set to beat Sheffield Wednesday in battle for Portuguese defender | OneFootball

Swansea City have reportedly won the race to sign free agent Ricardo Santos, after wide-ranging interest following his Bolton Wanderers exit.

Swansea City have reportedly won the race to sign free agent Ricardo Santos, after wide-ranging interest following the announcement of his exit from Bolton Wanderers.

The South Wales outfit have seen off Sheffield Wednesday and Derby County in their hunt for the 29-year-old, according to reports.

Santos is leaving Bolton alongside fellow long-standing defender Gethin Jones this summer at the end of their respective contracts, but the former is set to jump up a division to grab a deal with Alan Sheehan's Swans.

Swansea City set to land Ricardo Santos deal ahead of Sheffield Wednesday

Last week, FLW exclusively revealed that both Swansea and Sheffield Wednesday had made contract offers to Santos, despite the fact he had been released from a club in the division below.

It has now been reported by journalist Pete O’Rourke that Swansea have won the race for Santos, with the Portuguese defender opting to move to Wales after interest at home and abroad over recent weeks.

The former Peterborough United and Barnet central defender joined Bolton in 2020, and helped the club to both promotion out of League Two and to Wembley glory by lifting the EFL Trophy during his tenure.

Wearing the armband until September 2024, where he was stripped of it by previous manager Ian Evatt, Santos has since struggled for game-time and featured in only 25 of the Trotters league games in the most recent campaign due to injury. He played just once after a 2-2 draw with Cambridge United on January 18, with a chronic pelvic injury the cause of his absence.

In all, Santos managed 207 games for Bolton, with 126 of those coming in the third tier. He is now set to make the step into the Sky Bet Championship for the first time in his career, climbing up the divisions later than most.

Swansea finished 11th in the recent Championship campaign, lifting from the 14th place they managed 12 months prior.

As the Swans prepare for their eighth consecutive season from the Championship since their relegation from the Premier League, they have seemingly boosted their defensive ranks with one of the toughest defenders from the division below.

Despite recent injury concerns, Santos remains a strong, powerful centre-back, who on his day is a match for many a top EFL front-man.

Ricardo Santos' first taste of Championship football comes at an unexpected time

It is not often you see a 29-year-old player given their first chance at a higher level than they have spent the most impressive years of their career, but for Santos that is the case.

Bolton’s player of the season in 2020-21 has had to wait for his chance in the Championship after his free transfer move to the club half a decade ago, and it comes at a time where his stock was seemingly down after a nightmare 2024-25 campaign.

Despite Wanderers narrowly missing out on promotion into the second tier under former manager Ian Evatt on a number of occasions, Santos has moved away from the Toughsheet Community Stadium to get his first taste of the league many see as one of the most entertaining in Europe.

After his lengthy stay on the treatment table in the most recent season, he will have to battle back to full fitness ahead of the challenge that seemingly awaits him in South Wales.