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Who are Swansea’s best players from the last five years?

The last five years for Swansea have seen managers such as Brendan Rodgers, Michael Laudrup and Garry Monk come and go, but who have been the stand-out players for the Swans?

1. Ashley Williams

Ashley Williams joined Swansea in 2008 and played a key role in turning Swansea into an established Premier League team. The Welsh international is without doubt Swansea’s best ever player. Williams only ever missed seven games in the last five seasons for Swansea. If you consider the 32-year-old’s exceptional form, leadership and role as captain – he cannot be matched in terms of importance. The central defender signed for Everton this summer and will be missed dearly by Swansea.

2. Wilfried Bony

Wilfried Bony joined the Swans in 2013 for £12 million and had a great spell at the Welsh club, scoring an impressive 35 goals in 70 games. The Ivory Coast international even ended the 2014 calendar year as the Premier League’s leading goal scorer. Bony signed for Manchester City in 2015, but failed to create the same impact at the Ethiad. The striker’s lack of minutes and goals for City led to the 27-year-old joining Stoke on a season-long loan this summer. The Swans are missing a striker that can provide the goals that Bony once did.

3. Gylfi Sigurdsson

Since re-joining Swansea from Tottenham in 2014, Gylfi Sigurdssson has been one of the Swans’ best players. The midfielder has shown great attacking quality and willingness to get stuck in while playing for Swansea. The Iceland international scored 11 goals in 36 appearances for the Swans last season and the club’s fans were given a boost this summer with Sigurdsson signing a new four-year deal at the club.

4. Michu

The honour of the most surprising entry on this list belongs to Spanish forward Michu. Signed by Michael Laudrup as a relative unknown for just £2 million, Michu went on to light up the Premier League, scoring 18 league goals in the 2012-2013 season – a tally that hasn’t been beaten by any Swans player in a single season since the club’s promotion back to the top flight in 2011. While his unplayable form in South Wales earned him a coveted cap for Spain in 2013, Michu failed to ever live up to his debut season with numerous injuries keeping him from full fitness until 2015, when he was eventually released.

5. Neil Taylor

Similar to Ashley Williams, Neil Taylor has been an ever-present figure for both club and country. The North Wales product Taylor was snapped up by Swansea on a free transfer from fellow Welsh outfit Wrexham in 2010 and has been a consistent performer since. With the plaudits often evading Taylor, the left back has always answered the call turning out for Great Britain at the London 2012 Olympics and was more recently a standout performer for Wales at the Euro 2016 Championships, helping his country to a fairytale semi-final appearance.