Mikel Alonso said he had the thumbs up from his brother before he came to Swansea

Swansea City have Alonso training with them at the moment following his release from Real Sociedad and there is speculation that he may join up on a more permanent basis in January.

And he has revealed that it was his brother that confirmed that Swansea would be a good move for him after he himself had heard of the good work being undertaken by Roberto.

Speaking in today's Wales on Sunday, Alonso said “My brother is pleased to see me here, he loves life here and he was like ‘come on over to the island!’ when I told him.

“I had already heard a lot about Swansea; the good work Roberto has been doing and the good football they are playing.

“But, because Xabi’s been over here for a while, he had seen and heard a lot more about Swansea and read more about how they are doing in the newspapers.

“And from the first moment that this chance came along to come here to train he told me to go for it.

“He said he felt it could be a great place for me. He said everything he had heard about Roberto was good and that it would be a good team to spend time with.

“Of course it was my decision to come and although I haven’t been here long I can already see for myself that the things we have heard were true.

“People speak well of Roberto and have confidence in him and on first impressions I can see why.

“I have been impressed with some of the players and the whole picture, they do play it in the right way.

“It’s too soon to talk about the future because football moves so fast and you never know what happens.”

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