Get the latest Swans news sent straight to your inbox Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

With Chico Flores ready to seal his reunion with former boss Michael Laudrup in Qatar, Swansea City’s attention now looks to who might replace the Spaniard at centre-back for the Premier League campaign.

And top of the list could be Napoli’s Argentina ace Federico Fernandez who has been previously targeted by the Swans – and is thought to be the man Garry Monk wants to partner Ashley Williams at the heart of his defence.

But what do we know about the centre-half? Here’s a quick look at who may well be the seventh new Swan of the summer after the signings of Lukasz Fabianski, Marvin Emnes, Stephen Kingsley, Bafetimbi Gomis, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jefferson Montero.

Where is he from?

The 25-year-old was born in Tres Algarrobos – a town in the Buenos Aries region of Argentina – on February 21 1989.

Where did it all begin for him?

He kicked-off his career with famed Argetine side Estudiantes, making his debut in 2008 and featuring in the side’s 2009 Copa Libertadores triumph – South America’s version of the Champions League – alongside the likes of Mauro Boselli and Juan Sebastian Veron with future.

Where did he go from there?

Standing at 6ft 3in, Fernandez was snapped up by Serie A giants Napoli in 2011 with boss Walter Mazzarri shelling out £2.4m to bring the youngster to Europe having already established himself as an Argentina international under former Estudiantes boss Alejandro Sabella.

His physical presence and strength in the air – underlined with a brace of headed goals in Champions League action against Bayern Munich in 2011 – was seen to make him ideal to move continents, although he initially struggled to make his mark in Italian football and was loaned out to Getafe in the latter half of the 2013 season.

What's he done at international level?

Fernandez figured in the majority of Argentina’s qualifying games for the 2014 World Cup but his failure to nail down a regular place with Napoli alerted several clubs about his availability – including Swansea who initially eyed up the talented ball-player last summer as speculation over defender Ashley Williams once again reared its head.

He was really good last season, right?

He began to establish himself as a regular in Naples under Rafa Benitez last term, earning two man of the match awards as they took third spot in Serie A and won the Coppa Itallia, making 25 appearances in the league – although he did miss the Europa League clashes with Swansea.

Did he play at the World Cup?

His form saw him start the World Cup in Brazil, starting four games before injury saw Manchester City’s Martin Demichelis steal his place in the latter stages including the final defeat to Germany, but his ability was highlighted as he kept up an impressive pass completion rate of 89.4% and won 80% of his aerial duels.

While in Brazil, Swansea mentioned Fernandez’s name as a possible target as negotiations over Michu’s move to Napoli were thrashed out. The Naples club are thought to have put the block on including the defender as part of the deal – but did not shut the door on a future transfer.

Pictures: The key ins and outs at Swansea City