Napoli sign Michu on loan

Napoli have signed Spanish attacker Michu from Swansea City on a season-long loan with a view to a permanent move.

The versatile forward had been strongly linked with a move away from the Liberty Stadium in recent weeks and did not travel to the United States for the Welsh club’s pre-season tour.

And his switch to Serie A has now been confirmed in a deal that Napoli have the option to make permanent should he impress at the Stadio San Paolo.

Michu arrived at Swansea for a fee of £2.2million from Rayo Vallecano in 2012 and scored 18 Premier League goals in his first season.

However, the 28-year-old endured an injury-plagued 2013-14 campaign, making just 15 top-flight starts.

The Spaniard becomes Napoli’s second signing of the transfer window following the arrival of centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly, who joined from Belgian side Genk earlier this month.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis was the first to announce the news, taking to Twitter to welcome Michu to the club.

But, while Michu will hope that his move to Italy brings about a turnaround in his fortunes, the Oviedo-born forward will need to be at his best to earn a regular place in an attacking line-up that already features Gonzalo Higuain, Jose Callejon and Dries Mertens.