Swansea sign ex-Bolton captain Santos

Ricardo Santos helped Bolton win promotion from League Two in 2020-21

Swansea City have signed former Bolton Wanderers captain Ricardo Santos on a two-year contract.

The 29-year-old centre-back was a free agent having been released by League One club Wanderers at the end of last season.

Swansea head coach Alan Sheehan describes Santos as "an experienced player who is well-versed in the demands of playing in the EFL".

Portugal-born Santos was at Dagenham and Redbridge as a youngster and played non-league football before being handed his EFL chance by Peterborough United in 2014.

He played 75 games for Posh before spending three and a half years at Barnet.

After joining Bolton in 2020, Santos made 207 appearances for the club - including 32 last season - and was skipper between October 2021 and September 2024.

"He is a player I have known about for a long time," said Sheehan, "and someone we believe is capable of making the step up to Championship level.

"There were a number of clubs interested in securing his services, and we are delighted he has chosen Swansea City."

Santos will join the club on 1 July and will add to Swansea's defensive options following the departures of Kyle Naughton, Cyrus Christie and Kristian Pedersen - as well as loan signing Hannes Delcroix - this summer.

Uncertainty continues about the future of first-choice central defender Harry Darling, who is out of contract this month and is believed to have attracted interest from the likes of Birmingham City and Wrexham.

However, Swansea have indicated that the signing of Santos is unrelated to Darling's situation.

"We have identified certain areas of the squad where we recognise there is a need to have greater depth and competition, and we believe the addition of Ricardo will help us do that defensively," said director of football Richard Montague.

"He has considerable experience of the EFL, and the fact he has been in the team of the year for his division in four of the last five seasons speaks to his consistency.

"We believe his character and leadership will be a welcome addition to the squad, and we are looking forward to him linking up with Alan and the team for the start of pre-season."