Angel Rangel Claims Wilfried Bony's Swansea Return Was Meant to Be After Deadline Day Swoop

After Wilfried Bony's deadline day return to Swansea, some of his old teammates have expressed their delight at having the Ivorian back, none more so than Angel Rangel.

In an interview with Swansea's official website, Rangel spoke about his admiration for Bony after his return to South Wales:

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"When you lose important players you always want to replace them with the same quality, if not better," said Rangel.

"With Wilfried, we know what we are getting – a player who will score goals, can hold up the ball and link up with players around him.

"He was the Premier League's top scorer in the calendar year during 2014 with 20 goals, so it shows you that he has goals in him."

Bony came to immediately replace the departing Fernando Llorente on deadline day, in a deal from Man City reported to have cost Swansea £12m, the same fee they paid Vitesse Arnhem for his services in July 2013.

During his previous spell with the Swans Bony was prolific, as he scored 34 goals in 70 appearances before leaving for the Etihad Stadium in January 2015. As a result Rangel feels that it was always meant to be that the 28-year-old would one day return:

"It is great to see him back because we obviously lost Gylfi (Sigurdsson) and Llorente in the transfer window. Wilfried will be a popular player here because he has got a great character," claimed the Swans' right-back.

"He knows his role in the final third, but he is also a huge help to the defence when we are facing set-pieces too. I have never seen someone jumping as much as him in the box!

"He ticks all the boxes. Wilfried has returned – it was meant to be."

Bony only scored two goals in 11 appearances for Stoke last season, but will be hoping to re-find his Swans form back in South Wales, in time for the 2018 World Cup.