Michael Laudrup: "It's always difficult to say what's going to happen. A lot of clubs are thinking about the end of the season; promotion, relegation etc so they have a lot of important things to think about. Jonathan is playing very well and he's scoring goals. But he is happy here and I know he wants to stay here."
That quote, to me, indicates that the Swans may have already made an approach, but have been told to come back in the summer, which when you consider his parent club Villareal are chasing promotion back to La Liga, isn't that surprising. It's doubtful they'll want to agree anything before the transfer window opens as De Guzman has gone from strength to strength this season, and his good form will not have gone unnoticed by "El Submarino Amarilla" (unbelievably, Villareal's nickname is 'the Yellow Submarine').
When pressed on the upcoming fixture against WBA, Laudrup was quick to praise our next opponents. He's expecting a slight clash of styles, pointing out that WBA have, under Steve Clarke, developed into an effective counter-attacking unit, capable of inflicting damage on any team they come up against. Laudrup also cast one eye back to the fixture played out in South Wales earlier in the season, which, as mentioned in my last blog, contained possibly the most impressive fourty-five minutes of football seen by Swans fans this season.
"It is a game between two of the surprise packages of the season; both teams are seven points clear of tenth place, and that is really positive. They [West Brom] have done brilliantly this season, especially at home and they have a lot of talent and speed, in particular with Lukaku.
"We always like to have the ball but they are very good on the counter attack so we have to be careful, but we have to go there and play the way we always do and look to get a positive result. We were fantastic in that first half [in the reverse fixture at the Liberty Stadium], played some fantastic football with one and two touch movements and scored three good goals."
The Swansea Way goes showbiz!
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I will tonight be attending the South Wales Evening Post Pride Awards. This is an awards ceremony dedicated to celebrating unsung local heroes, who have gone above and beyond in their efforts within their respective fields. I will be mixing with dignitaries, celebrities, and hair-salon owners alike as the creme-de-la-creme of the SA postcode area descent on the Brangwyn Hall in this celebration of local people. The reason I'll be in attendance is my darling mother has been nominated, and shortlisted for, the award of "Best Teacher/Mentor", so I'll be suited and booted, and hoping to snag five minutes with Mr Laudrup, who is on the panel of judges this year. Paul Potts will be in attendance too, and he followed me on Twitter earlier so hopefully I'll be able to have a chinwag with him too. Wish me luck, as I think this will be the best opportunity I'll have to bag myself a couple of words (and some photos!) from someone SCFC related for a good while yet.
With that, it's 4:10pm, I've got to be there by 6:45pm and I need to shower. Better get moving really! Until next time...