Amongst the gloom of the fourth loss in five games, it was easy to overlook two positives from the weekend. Goncalo Franco and Ji-Sung Eom reached 100 games for the Swans, with many more to come. Tomorrow we take a look at Eom, but today, we look at the Portuguese cannonball.

The 2024 summer was a strange one. In a period of discontent and continued churn, 13 players - including players ending their loans at other clubs - entered the Swansea City squad. Even die-hard fans would struggle to identify some of them.

Question : Which young defender joined on loan, only to end up playing one League Cup game and no league games before being recalled to Olympiacos? Which Indo-Dutch player returned from loan at Heerenveen, and featured in a grand total of three games? Answers at the bottom. It also featured the poor and costly signing of Florian Bianchini for around £2m.

On the flip side, it included two of Swansea's best pound-for-pound signings in the 21st century. Lawrence Vigouroux signed for less than half a million pounds, while we benefited from Bordeaux's bankruptcy by capturing Zan Vipotnik on a free transfer. Sitting just below that hall-of-fame transfer category in "very very good" territory, step forward Goncalo Franco.

Senhor Franco from Porto, with an ex-professional footballing father, Pedro, came with football pedigree, having spent time in the youth systems of Boavista and FC Porto. He made his debut at Leixões, a small club in the suburbs of Porto, before quickly being signed by top-flight club Moreirense, situated in a town about 45 minutes south of Braga.

In a country where three clubs completely dominate the conversation, Moreirense are a relatively big club by Portuguese standards. Current national team boss Jorge Jesus was briefly the manager in 2005. In the past 15 years, they have been relegated twice and bounced back at the first time of asking. In the last seven of their top-flight seasons, they have finished eighth or higher five times. Right now they are competing well in the Primeira Liga, sitting in 9th place, despite losing their last game to Sporting Lisbon thanks to a single Luis Suarez (not that one) goal.

Their last promotion came in 2022-23, with Franco playing a big role. The player and club further excelled on their return to the top league, finishing a club-record-equalling 6th place in the table. His exploits brought him to the attention of Swansea's scouts, who publicly stated they were looking for value in less typical football environments. The signing was confirmed on 12th July 2024 for around £2m.

If a week is long in football, two-and-a-half years is an eternity. In the announcement on the Swansea City website, it declared that Franco (middle below) will line up in midfield alongside Matt Grimes and Joe Allen. It already seems like a different eon. His boss at the time, Luke Williams, said "We want to have a team with energy and intensity. That is really important and, from what we have seen, Gonçalo has that in abundance."

That has been proved true and then some. The article hints at a goal-scoring midfielder, with an eye for the odd wonderstrike, such as the worldie he scored for Moreirense against Estoril Praia from 40 yards. In Wales, Franco's goal-scoring exploits have been limited, with only six goals so far in his 100 games, but they do include the sumptuous strike into the very toppest top corner against Manchester City in the League Cup, and the September 2025 Championship Goal of the Month for the controlled, powerful volley against Blackburn Rovers from a looping Josh Tymon cross.

But the quality Swans fans have most come to appreciate about the 25-year-old is his ability to break up play. Watching compilations from his time at Moreirense, you immediately recognise the bustling, busy midfielder; the archetypal annoying opponent. He offers every type of disruption ranging from bull-in-a-china-shop charge directly at the player in possession, in which he will take either the ball or the opponent or both, to the more subtle ones where his anticipation of the following play comes to the fore. And if that doesn't work, he will hound you down until he overwhelms you with his energy. It is little surprise to learn that one of his footballing heroes is the legendary but combustible Sergio Ramos. He even has a football pitch tattoo on his thigh, in homage to the Spanish icon's similar inkage.

Watching back some clips, I think I've underappreciated his reading of the game. This quality means that countless times he just happens to be in the right place or recognises which direction the opposing midfielder is shaping up to open his body before finding his stocky frame blocking his path. This, combined with the aforementioned dynamism, is what led him to be awarded the supporters' and players' 2025 Player of the Year.

Fans will love any player who gives everything on the pitch, and Franco has endeared himself to the fans off the field too. Whether it's for his contribution to the foundation's "Franco's 15k" virtual medal challenge, the apparent overindulgence on his summer holidays, going viral for FaceTiming young fans travelling on the train back from an away game, or his quirky antics when translating for Ronald in Portuguese. Whatever he does, he's in your head.

Answers: Nelson Abbey and Nathan Tjoe-A-On.

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