Bafétimbi Gomis has admitted using the Football Manager game to learn about Swansea City and their players before he signed for the club.

The 29-year-old was aware of Garry Monk’s interest in him while he was playing for Lyon last season, and used his time travelling across Europe to research the club and it’s players with the aid of the computer game.

Gomis, who scored his first Swansea goal in the 1-0 Capital One Cup win over Rotherham on Tuesday having impressed from the substitute’s bench in the 2-1 win at Manchester United on the Premier League’s opening weekend, told his new club’s website: “I play a lot of Football Manager. During my time with my previous club, we travelled quite a bit for European matches. Therefore, I used my spare time on the plane to play. I’ve been playing the game ever since my development stages, but I have found it very helpful in helping me find out more about Swansea.

“Before I signed here, I spent a month playing as Swansea to help me get to know my team-mates – to find out a bit more about them. Of course, I also watched video footage to see how the team played, but it is true that the game helped me learn a lot about each of my team-mates’ characteristics – their age, where they used to play and their attributes.”

Gomis says the best-selling game even helped him learn about the history of the south Wales club – and their manager. “I believe that, when signing for a club, it’s vital that you learn about its history,” he explained. “It was important to know what kind of club Swansea are, their rivalry with Cardiff City, as well as other such things.

“I realised that the manager Garry Monk was a key player for Swansea, who helped the club rise to the top division of English football. Since Swansea have followed me for some time, I have followed them too and I was very surprised with the quality and mind-set within this team. But, now, it is not a surprise to me, given that Garry Monk is the manager.”

This season Premier League clubs started using Football Manager’s database of players to help identify and recruit new signings.