Orlandi Delighted To Sign New 1 Year Deal

Andrea Orlandi said he was delighted to extend his stay at the club by putting pen to paper on a new one year deal.

The left winger's future has been in doubt for the past 2 months as he was out of contract and former boss Roberto Martinez left to join Wigan Athletic.

Considering that Orlandi has only made a handful of League appearances for the Swans, it was unsure whether or not Sousa would be keen for the Spaniard to stay at the Liberty Stadium.

The youngster was happy to hear though that he's in Sousa's plans and ignored opportunities to join other clubs to stay in South Wales.

He told the Official Site:

'At one point I thought my time at Swansea had come to an end,''

'When Roberto left I didn't really know where I was.

'But I spoke to the new gaffer (Paulo) and he told me to come over to Swansea for a chat. He said he was counting on me - and that's what I needed to hear, so I flew straight over from Spain.

'He told me I had to improve certain parts of my game and I agreed with him.''

'I had offers from other English and Spanish teams and, if I am honest, I did come close to signing for another club. But in the end there was only one place I wanted to be and I rang the chairman myself to push the new deal through.

'Now I'm just delighted that everything has been finalised.''

[Speaking about the Portugal training camp last week] 'I think the boys were glad to see me, It was a good exercise and I enjoyed it.

'It also gave me the chance to speak in more depth to the gaffer (Paulo) who communicates a lot with the players. He is always interested in you and tries to make you a better player.

'Everyone knows he was a great footballer and I'm sure he will be the same as a manager. I've already got the utmost respect for him.''

'My target is to play a lot more games and help Swansea reach the play-offs.''

In his 2 year spell with the Swans, he was never given a fair run in the first team and has spent most of his time here watching on from the bench.

His only real chance in the League was at the end of last season when he started a few games on the left wing.

He has featured more in the Cup games, and has shown some promise that he could be a good player for us. He has skill, pace and the ability to deliver an excellent cross.

Hopefully we'll see him more involved in the first team next year.

In a site poll in April 2009, 91% voted that they would like to see Orlandi stay and sign a new deal with the Swans.