Borja González Tomás (born 25 August 1992), known as Borja Bastón, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Segunda División club Real Oviedo.

Borja Bastón
Borja with Eibar in 2016
Personal information
Full name Borja González Tomás[1]
Date of birth (1992-08-25) 25 August 1992 (age 31)[2]
Place of birth Madrid, Spain[2]
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[2]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
Oviedo
Number 9
Youth career
1996–2009 Atlético Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2011 Atlético Madrid B 37 (16)
2010–2016 Atlético Madrid 1 (0)
2011–2012Murcia (loan) 20 (4)
2012–2013Huesca (loan) 31 (9)
2013–2014Deportivo La Coruña (loan) 34 (10)
2014–2015Zaragoza (loan) 38 (22)
2015–2016Eibar (loan) 36 (18)
2016–2020 Swansea City 38 (7)
2017–2018Málaga (loan) 20 (2)
2018–2019Alavés (loan) 26 (5)
2020 Aston Villa 2 (0)
2020–2021 Leganés 35 (5)
2021– Oviedo 100 (38)
International career
2008 Spain U16 3 (6)
2008–2009 Spain U17 22 (12)
2010 Spain U18 2 (1)
2011 Spain U19 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 07:07, 21 February 2024 (UTC)

Trained at Atlético Madrid, he spent much of his tenure out on loan and with Atlético Madrid B, this included successful spells at Deportivo and Zaragoza in the Segunda División and Eibar in La Liga. In 2016 he signed with Swansea City, being loaned twice during his contract.

Borja earned 29 caps and scored 19 goals for Spain at youth level, finishing as top scorer at the 2009 U-17 World Cup and winning the European Under-19 Championship two years later.

Club career edit

Atlético Madrid edit

Born in Madrid, Bastón arrived in his hometown club Atlético Madrid's youth system at the age of four. He began as a goalkeeper, the position which his father played professionally, but he converted him to a forward so that he could enjoy the game more.[3] He made his senior debut in the 2009–10 season, scoring 12 goals for the reserve team in the Segunda División B.

On 15 May 2010, in the campaign's last round, Bastón made his first-team and La Liga debut, coming on as a substitute for Tiago in the 58th minute of the match against Getafe. Twenty minutes later, however, he was stretchered off with a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury on his left knee, in an eventual 0–3 home loss.[4]

Bastón re-appeared with Atlético B seven months after his injury, as a substitute in a 1–0 win over Cacereño. After the match, he stated: "I'm very happy. I've passed really bad times and I've suffered, but now I'm prepared to help the team go up in the league table."[5]

In late August 2011 Bastón was loaned to Real Murcia, recently promoted to the Segunda División.[6] On 30 August of the following year he moved to Huesca also in a temporary deal,[7] scoring nine times for the latter during the season as it ended in relegation. On 27 January 2013, he netted in a 2–1 victory at Numancia but was also sent off for a second yellow card.[8]

On 28 August 2013, Bastón joined Deportivo de La Coruña on a two-year loan.[9][10] After helping his team return to the top flight at the first attempt, he moved to fellow league club Real Zaragoza also in a temporary deal,[11] scoring 22 goals in the regular season, contributing to his team's run to the promotion play-off final and earning a spot in the Team of the Season.[12]

Bastón was loaned to Eibar of the top tier on 31 July 2015.[13] He scored his first goals in the competition on 23 September, helping to a 2–2 draw at Levante.[14] He was named the La Liga Player of the Month for October, for his goals against Las Palmas, Sevilla and Barcelona.[15]

Swansea City edit

On 11 August 2016, Swansea City signed Bastón on a four-year contract for a club record fee of £15.5 million.[16][17] He made his debut in the Premier League on 18 September under Francesco Guidolin, replacing Jack Cork for the final eight minutes of a 1–0 loss at Southampton.[18] He scored his first goal on 15 October again off the bench, in a 3–2 defeat away to Arsenal in new manager Bob Bradley's first game in charge.[19]

Having started just four matches and having not contributed any more goals as the Swans avoided relegation, Bastón entered talks in May 2017 with manager Paul Clement and the board of directors over his future.[20] On 4 July 2017, he was loaned to Málaga in the Spanish top division for one year;[21] both sides were eventually relegated.[22][23]

Bastón was loaned again on 16 July 2018, joining Alavés.[24] Back at Swansea for the 2019–20 season, he scored his first goal for them since 2016 in a 2–1 win against Hull City in the first league fixture on 3 August 2019.[25]

Aston Villa edit

On 31 January 2020, Bastón joined Aston Villa on a free transfer, leaving Swansea six months before the end of his contract in order to remove himself from their wage bill.[26][27] Sixteen days after signing, he made his debut as a late substitute in a 3–2 home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.[28]

Bastón was released on 25 June 2020.[29]

Leganés and Oviedo edit

On 6 September 2020, Bastón agreed to a one-year deal with Leganés, recently relegated to the second tier.[30] On 11 August 2021, he moved to Real Oviedo of the same league on a two-year contract.[31]

International career edit

Bastón represented Spain's under-17 at the 2009 FIFA World Cup in Nigeria. As the national team finally finished in third position he won the Golden Boot with five goals, with teammate Sergi Roberto adding three.[32]

With the under-19 team, Bastón won the 2011 UEFA European Championship in Romania, but was a support player in a side favouring Álvaro Morata and Juanmi.[33][34]

Personal life edit

Bastón's father, Miguel Bastón, was also a footballer. A goalkeeper, he also played with Atlético – but only with their reserves – and spent most of his career with Real Burgos.[3]

Career statistics edit

As of match played 26 March 2022[35][36][37]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Atlético Madrid B 2009–10 Segunda División B 23 12 23 12
2010–11 Segunda División B 14 4 14 4
Total 37 16 37 16
Atlético Madrid 2009–10 La Liga 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2010–11 La Liga 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Murcia (loan) 2011–12 Segunda División 20 4 1 0 21 4
Huesca (loan) 2012–13 Segunda División 31 9 1 0 32 9
Deportivo (loan) 2013–14 Segunda División 34 10 0 0 34 10
Zaragoza (loan) 2014–15 Segunda División 38 22 1 0 1 0 40 22
Eibar (loan) 2015–16 La Liga 36 18 3 1 39 19
Swansea City 2016–17 Premier League 18 1 1 0 1 0 20 1
2019–20 Championship 19 6 0 0 0 0 19 6
Total 37 5 1 0 1 0 39 5
Málaga (loan) 2017–18 La Liga 20 2 0 0 20 2
Alavés (loan) 2018–19 La Liga 20 4 2 0 22 4
Aston Villa 2019–20 Premier League 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Leganés 2020–21 Segunda División 36 5 2 0 38 5
Oviedo 2021–22 Segunda División 31 17 0 0 31 17
Career total 342 114 11 1 1 0 1 0 354 115

Honours edit

Spain U17

Spain U19

Individual

References edit

  1. ^ "Squads for 2016/17 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  2. ^ a b c "Borja Baston". Eurosport. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  3. ^ a b Barreiros, Pedro (3 September 2013). "Bastón vuelve a Riazor" [Bastón returns to Riazor]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  4. ^ "Getafe secure Europa League spot". ESPN Soccernet. 15 May 2010. Archived from the original on 21 May 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  5. ^ Maldonado, J. F. (21 December 2010). "Borja: "2011 será uno de mis mejores años"" [Borja: "2011 will be one of my best years"]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 December 2010.
  6. ^ "Borja González refuerza la delantera grana" [Borja González strengthens grana offence] (in Spanish). Los Pimentoneros. 31 August 2011. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  7. ^ "Borja jugará cedido en el Huesca esta temporada" [Borja will play on loan in Huesca this season]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 30 August 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  8. ^ "El Huesca aprovecha los errores del Numancia" [Huesca take advantage of Numancia's mistakes]. Marca (in Spanish). 27 January 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  9. ^ "Borja Bastón: Juan Carlos me habló increíblemente bien de la ciudad y del club" [Borja Bastón: Juan Carlos spoke incredibly well about the city and the club to me] (in Spanish). Deportivo La Coruña. 28 August 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  10. ^ "Borja jugará cedido en el Deportivo de la Coruña" [Borja will play on loan in Deportivo de La Coruña] (in Spanish). Atlético Madrid. 29 August 2013. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  11. ^ "El Real Zaragoza consigue la cesión del delantero Borja" [Real Zaragoza get the loan of forward Borja] (in Spanish). Real Zaragoza. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  12. ^ "El once ideal de la Liga Adelante" [The all-star XI in Liga Adelante]. Sport (in Spanish). 23 June 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  13. ^ "Borja Bastón llega cedido a SD Eibar" [Borja Bastón arrives on loan at SD Eibar] (in Spanish). SD Eibar. 31 July 2015. Archived from the original on 6 August 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  14. ^ Martínez, Jonathan (23 September 2015). "Deyverson salva los muebles" [Deyverson saves their bacon]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  15. ^ a b "Borja Bastón named Liga BBVA Player of the Month for October". La Liga. 5 November 2015. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  16. ^ "Swansea City agree club record fee for Atlético Madrid striker Borja Bastón". The Guardian. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  17. ^ "Swans clinch club-record signing of Borja". Swansea City A.F.C. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  18. ^ Fisher, Ben (18 September 2016). "Charlie Austin goal against Swansea gives Southampton first league win". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  19. ^ "Bradley suffers defeat in Swansea debut". The Sports Network. 15 October 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  20. ^ "Borja Baston: Manager Paul Clement to consider Swansea City striker's future". BBC Sport. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  21. ^ "Borja Baston: Swansea City striker joins Malaga on season long loan deal". BBC Sport. 4 July 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  22. ^ Pritchard, Dafydd (14 May 2018). "Swansea City 1–2 Stoke City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  23. ^ Storer, Adam (18 May 2018). "How Málaga went from rags to riches to relegation". These Football Times. Archived from the original on 27 July 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  24. ^ "Swansea striker Borja Baston joins Spanish side Alaves on loan". Sky Sports. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  25. ^ Vincent, Gareth (3 August 2019). "Swansea City 2–1 Hull City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  26. ^ "Borja Baston: Aston Villa sign striker from Swansea in free transfer". BBC Sport. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  27. ^ "Borja Baston leaves Swansea City for Aston Villa". Swansea City A.F.C. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  28. ^ Sutcliffe, Steve (16 February 2020). "Aston Villa 2–3 Tottenham Hotspur". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  29. ^ "Premier League clubs publish 2019/20 released lists". Premier League. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  30. ^ "El C.D. Leganés fortalece su ataque con la llegada de Borja Bastón" [C.D. Leganés bolster their attack with the arrival of Borja Bastón] (in Spanish). CD Leganés. 6 September 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  31. ^ "Borja Bastón, nuevo jugador del Real Oviedo" [Borja Bastón, new player of Real Oviedo] (in Spanish). Real Oviedo. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  32. ^ a b c "Consuelo de bronce" [Bronze consolation]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 15 November 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  33. ^ "Convocatoria definitiva de España sub-19" [Final Spain under-19 call-up] (in Spanish). UEFA. 13 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  34. ^ a b "FOTO INTERACTIVA: ¿Reconoces a los héroes de la Eurocopa de Rumanía de 2011?" [INTERACTIVE PHOTO: Do you recognise the heroes of the Romania 2011 Eurocup?] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. 4 August 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  35. ^ Borja Bastón at BDFutbol
  36. ^ Borja Bastón at Soccerway
  37. ^ Borja Bastón at FootballDatabase.eu  
  38. ^ "El uruguayo Stuani y Borja Bastón comparten el título de máximo goleador" [Uruguay's Stuani and Borja Bastón share top-scorer accolade]. ABC Color (in Spanish). 29 May 2022. Retrieved 3 July 2022.

External links edit