The Swans continue to boast a rich Spanish influence - but they are currently going Dutch with equal fervour.

Dwight Tiendalli is the latest in a lengthening line of Dutchmen to come to the Liberty, where he'll join countrymen Jonathan de Guzman, Kemy Agustien and Michel Vorm.

Tiendalli actually played in the same Utrecht side as Vorm, whereas Vorm himself was allegedly brought to the club on the advice of Kemy Agustien's agent. Apparently, Swansea is an attractive destination for decent Dutch footballers, and each one has proven to be either a solid or a spectacular addition to the side so far.

Here's hoping Tiendalli keeps the trend going. The full-back, nominally listed as a right-back but brought to Swansea to cover for Neil Taylor on the left, has both Champions League and Europa League experience and was once sold for £1.4 million (Utrecht to Feyenoord). Transfermarkt.com values him at £1.25 million at present, but suggests the player was worth £2.5 million in his Feyenoord days. Either way you slice it, picking up a player rated in the millions on a free is decent business.

It's actually hard to understand why FC Twente let him go, or why he was even still available. Most reports (and a glance at Tiendalli's profile on Football Manager) suggest the Dutchman is a solid full-back with no obvious deficiencies. If anything, he's a something of a flair player and no slouch defensively either. On paper, he should fit in well with Michael Laudrup's favoured strategy of pushing the full-backs forward, and certainly provides important relief for Ben Davies, who Laudrup understandably described as too young to be forced into the starter's shirt.

Here's a nicely dramatic fan-made video of 'Tien Tien Tiendalli' taking a penalty for Twente.

Tiendalli probably won't be taking many spot kicks for the Swans, but YouTube isn't great at throwing up clips of full backs covering lots of ground, being positionally sound and tackling.

With any luck, Tiendalli will be as big with a hit with Swansea as his countrymen. Given that he can play either side, he'd actually make a decent long-term addition to the squad. I guess we'll see how it goes.

Elsewhere, Ash Williams got to play at being Joe Allen for 20 minutes or so in Wales heartening two-nil defeat versus a trendy Belgium side full of Premier League talent. Due to injuries and absences, Wales were missing five starters, so Williams was handed the rare opportunity to play holding midfielder, although James Collins' early dismissal meant a switch back to more familiar territory at centre half.

On the subject of international fixtures, Nathan Dyer's name is again doing the rounds after Roy Hodgson's Liverpool-biased selection policy saw Raheem Sterling chosen for England's game versus Ukraine. Dyer continues to be overlooked but on this occasion, despite Hodgson's comments dismissing the theory, it seems as though Sterling got the nod just to make sure of his future eligibility for England.

However, the point has been raised and is still valid - why not Nathan Dyer? Dyer is easily as good as Theo Walcott or Stewart Downing, if not better. The Zeitgeist of bringing young English players into the national team is one thing, but perhaps the youth are not the only demographic of players to have been overlooked to England's disadvantage - how about the dozens of top class players running out for the 'small 14' clubs (or even lower league teams) every week? Players who still continue to be ignored, no matter what their contribution and regardless of their obvious ability.

In the last days of Fabio Capello, the Italian watched the Swans beat Arsenal in a game where Dyer outplayed Walcott to the point of embarrassment. It might have been the Swans fans chanting a more colourful rendition of "you're just a [poor version of] Nathan Dyer" every time Theo touched the ball, but even Arsenal fans had to admit to Dyer's superiority that day. And still no call-up to a national team that has been thin on the wing since Chris Waddle retired.

Still, Swans fans will be more comforted with Dyer out of the international shop window and in the Swans first eleven instead of away on duty or worn out from the same - so perhaps it's not all bad after all.

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