Roberto Martinez reveals why he is taking his Swansea side to Spain this summer
The Swans will head off for the last week of July to Roberto's homeland and who is to say that they won't be going with a couple more compatriots in the side.
Roberto's faith in buying foreign was rewarded on Sunday night when Angel Rangel, Ferrie Bodde and Jason Scotland were all named in the PFA team of the year for League One with pretty much a zero outlay transfer fee wise spent on all three of them.
And that leads you to believe that foreign will be pretty high on the agenda at Swansea this summer as the manager looks to build a squad that he believes could push towards the pot of gold that awaits in the Premiership.
One of the matches on the tour will be against a top La Liga side giving the Swans a chance to pit their wits against some of the best that Spain can offer.
“There are many, many things we can learn from going out to Spain,” he told the Western Mail.
“Sometimes you have to take players to a new environment where they can learn things they might not do elsewhere.
“The biggest thing for everyone will be learning from the tempo of the game out there. The tempo in Spain, France and Italy is completely different to what we have in the UK, especially in the lower leagues.
“The other aspect is the professionalism they display in Spain. Everyone should realise that being a professional footballer is something that should occupy you 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“What you do off the pitch is as important as what you do on it. That attitude and respect for your body is something you need at every club and perhaps something you can pick up more from the leagues abroad.
“There are other aspects of the game in which the UK is far in advance of the leagues in Spain or Italy. That’s great, but it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to learn other things from them.”
He continued: “I want to work hard on the tactical side of things when we are with the Spanish sides. Hopefully that will include one big La Liga club.
“Realistically our philosophy of how to play is not going to change at all,” he said.
“We will need to adapt to certain aspects of the Championship but that is something we will do together during pre-season. I don’t think we need to prepare for a big difference in standards.”