Who's likely to come in? Who's likely to leave?
Ah, deadline day. Once a time when Huw would go and play golf, turning his phone off, but now as much a part of the football calendar as the day the fixture list is released, or the draw for the third round of the FA Cup.
That's not to say I particularly enjoy it though. My personal opinion is that deadline day creates massive amounts of unnecessary pressure, and that restricting players movements throughout the season means you inevitably end up with players moving for fees which don't accurately represent their true value. That's my tuppence worth anyway. Now let's have a look at what the Swans may be up to today.
Potential Departures
Jose Canas (Free - small fee?)
Canas' departure this summer had seemed almost guaranteed at one point, but now a question mark hangs over his future. Rumours of a move to Spanish clubs have seemed to disappear for now, though I really wouldn't be surprised if he went somewhere in a last minute deal - possibly even a loan move.
Likelihood of leaving: 5/10
Wilfried Bony (Numerous suitors - £19mil+)
No chance. I don't care what the press are saying, nobody will pay the required fee as it's too much of a risk based on one season's goals.
Likelihood of leaving: 1/10
Potential Arrivals
Garry Monk has said we're in for two more players - a left-back and a right sided winger, and to be honest whether we're massively in need of strengthening in these positions is debatable. I thought Jazz was excellent against Rotherham, and Tiendalli seems to have once again remembered how to play football, so if you throw Kingsley into the mix you could argue we've actually got five full-backs on our books. That being said, Monk clearly knows more than I do and if he brings someone in who'll push Taylor even harder that's surely not a bad thing. I can't see us spending more than four...perhaps five million in this area though.
As for a right winger...again, do we really need one that bad? Between Jeff, Dyer, Routledge & Emnes surely we have enough cover there? I guess this puts us in an almost enviable position where we can afford to only add players (from this point anyway) who drastically improve the squad. Monk's spoken about the need to bring in players who'll instantly push for the first team, and when you look at the arrivals of Sigurdsson, Jefferson Montero & Federico Fernandez it's fairly obvious that's what we've been doing all summer.
That leads me to the conclusion that, while we do really want to bring players in who'll improve our cover in these positions, we'll only bring players in if they are the right people, at the right price. I don't think it'll damage our season if we fail to recruit two new faces today, and that's testament to the good work the club have done across the summer in bringing in quality players, at good prices, who've drastically improved the first team.
Transfer deadline day? Pfft. I don't see what the fuss is about...