Swansea's Franco looks to make big impression
Swansea City’s transfer work has been regularly questioned in recent windows, but there have been no complaints about the signing of Goncalo Franco.
The Portuguese midfielder looks the type who can do a bit of everything.
He can defend, he can attack and he can scrap in the Championship. He can even act as an interpreter for Ronald.
“He doesn’t speak much English,” Franco says with a smile.
“We are very good friends. We go to eat in the Portuguese restaurant.
“I help him because sometimes he doesn’t understand.”
Ronald, from Brazil, joined Swansea after a loan spell with Portuguese top-flight side Estrela da Amadora in January.
The winger has made a positive impression in Wales despite a limited grasp of English.
Franco has arguably been more impressive, albeit over a short period of time.
Perhaps he has been helped by having a better understanding of the messages coming from head coach Luke Williams, having studied hard since signing a four-year deal with Swansea in July.
Franco, who joined for an undisclosed fee, was picked out by Swansea’s recruitment team having played 33 games for Moreirense in Portugal’s Liga last season.
A former Portugal Under-20 international, he has obvious quality on the ball but also looks robust enough to cope with the physical demands of the English second tier.
“The Championship is completely different from Portugal,” he says. “It’s more competitive, more fighting, the game is faster.
“I like it. I like to fight and to play tough games. That is my style.”
Franco admits to knowing little about Swansea before he made the move to Wales – but very quickly felt “comfortable in the club and in the city”.
“It’s different from Portugal. The weather… here it is colder,” he says.
“But I prefer the people here. They are friendly and humble.
“I go for a walk and the people say ‘can I take a photo, welcome to Swansea, we need to win against Cardiff’.”
Franco describes August’s south Wales derby as “the best game” since he arrived, even though Swansea were held to a draw after going ahead through Liam Cullen’s early goal.
“The atmosphere was so good,” he says. “But we should win.”
A feeling of points getting away has been something of a theme for Swansea in the early stages of the season, given that they also led at home against Bristol City only to draw and missed opportunities to seize the initiative in the goalless game against Stoke City prior to this international break.
Having said that, Luke Williams’ team could also have gone on to lose all three of those matches given the chances their opponents had in each of them.
Swansea’s resilience got them through, which has been another familiar tale so far in 2024-25.
Swansea have struggled to score goals – there have been only eight in nine Championship games – but have conceded just six so far in this league campaign.
Franco has played his part in delivering that impressive defensive record but, having seen a couple of big opportunities come and go, wants to increase his output at the other end of the field.
“I can score goals - last season I think I scored five,” he says.
“I am a box-to-box midfielder. I can help defend and attack.”
As Franco talks, the numerous tattoos on his leg are on display. Each comes with a different story.
There is a surfboard - a hobby when growing up by the sea - and an aeroplane, which represents the travelling he did as a youngster as a result of his father Pedro being a professional footballer with various Portuguese clubs and FC Seoul.
Among the many others is the outline of a football pitch, which is a nod to former Real Madrid and Spain defender Sergio Ramos.
“He has one like that,” Franco explains. “I like Sergio Ramos - he has the same attitude as me.”
Franco fitted the bill for Swansea in the summer, when their policy was to recruit young players with potential from cheaper overseas markets.
The club’s hope is that the likes of Franco, Eom Ji-Sung, Florian Bianchini will come together to form a team capable of competing for a return to the Premier League.
If those players are tempted away, Swansea’s theory is, they will be sold at a considerable profit.
Franco makes no secret of his desire to play in English football’s top division. In short, that is why he moved to Swansea despite reported interest from various clubs around Europe.
“Here I am more close to the Premier League,” he says.
“Of course, I hope one day to play there. For me and for most people in Portugal, the Premier League is the best league in the world. All the players work to play in the Premier League one day.”
Could that happen with Swansea?
“We have the potential with this squad,” Franco says. “We can fight to get into the play-offs - we work every day for this.”
It would be quite something should Williams’ thin, inexperienced squad reach the Premier League this season.
But on the evidence of Franco’s first couple of months on these shores, it would not be a huge shock should he go on to play in the top division.
