Swansea close in on ex-Bolton captain Santos

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

Swansea City are close to signing former Bolton Wanderers captain Ricardo Santos.

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

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.

Santos 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.