Napoli the latest big-name side to be linked to Swansea skipper - is he due a big move?
I always get worried any time I hear rumours surrounding the future of Ashley Williams. His stock just keeps rising, and the longer he goes playing week in, week out in the Premier League whilst always maintaining a very high level of performance the more potential suitors he'll attract. The latest media talk is that Napoli are interested, but Ash's agent was coy when asked about it:
"There has been talk of meetings with the club or with Rafa Benitez, but there's no truth in that at the moment. Clearly we are talking about a great club with an international level manager, so we are ready to talk to Napoli if a call were to come.
However, until the possibility becomes concrete, there's no point talking about it."
I've seen more vague statements than that referred to as "come and get me" pleas, and in truth only Ash knows if he intends to stay here beyond his current contract. It currently expires at the end of next season, and it does make me wonder how getting him to put pen to paper on an extension hasn't happened before now. Obviously it could be that the club have tried to pin him on the issue only for the player to remain noncommittal, but Ash is one of a few players who, if I were in charge of the Swans, I'd have no problem throwing money at.
Garry Monk blatantly agrees, and has said in the press recently that the Swans should look to tie him to the club for the remainder of his career. Easier said than done, but all you can do is make your best offer and the rest is in the hands of the player - would he sign on? It's really difficult to say, as you can't help but feel that given his age (he'll be thirty in August) this summer's transfer window might be the last in which a big offer arrives.
With Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle and Napoli amongst the clubs that have been linked, you can guarantee that any contract offer he'd receive from a club of their ilk would dwarf the best we could offer up, so it does seem entirely down to whether Ash fancies staying here and being captain for another few years, or taking the risk of signing for a big, big club where he could end up as a third or fourth-choice centre-back, depending on how things work out.
It really is a tough one. If the Swans played hardball and refused to sell him he'd be thirty-one by the time his contract expired, and you would expect his options to be a lot more limited at that stage of his career. I'd hate to see a player retained against his will, but the older he gets the less likely he is to receive offers from illustrious suitors, and if the right bid doesn't materialise this summer we could be in with a great shout of getting him to sign on for what would probably be the rest of his playing days.
One thing is for sure though, and that's if Ash has decided the time is right for him to move on no-one can say he hasn't earned his shot at the big time. He's been an excellent servant to the club, and no-one would be able to begrudge him his opportunity to prove himself at one of Europe's great clubs - not bad for a player who started out playing for Hednesford Town whilst working at Drayton Manor!
I've got my fingers crossed he decides to stick around in Swansea for the rest of his career, and that the club make him an offer which is very, very hard to turn down. Until something is sorted out either way we'll just have to wait in hope of a positive resolution. Something tells me that whatever happens, we won't be waiting too long.