Swansea rumoured to be closing in on Alejandro Pozuelo

As previously mentioned (here), the Swans are being linked with a move for Alejandro Pozuelo, a creative player who can operate either as an attacking midfielder or in the hole behind the striker. As I found out the last time I dug around online for information, it appears he's a little bit of a hot-head, and he's actually leaving Real Betis under a bit of a cloud after a contractual wrangle. Betis claimed that the amount of appearances he'd made this term automatically triggered a one-year extension to his present deal, however after a bit of back and fore it was decided that if a potential suitor was willing to pay a compensation fee (rumoured to be in the region of £450k) then the young Spanish striker would be allowed to leave.

It seems that Betis' are run very similar to the Swans if this quote from one of their directors is to be believed. He was speaking just over a week ago in regards to the possibility of Pozuelo moving on:

 “The player has no  interest in playing for Betis and  will not play, therefore. These type of  players will not be required at  this club. I’ve said many times  that players play where they  want to be” .

Hopefully he wants to play for the Swans! Why do I think he's a bit temperamental? After coming through the ranks at Betis, he made waves in the reserve "B" team, scoring 16 goals in one season and drawing attention from Manchester United and Barcelona, before making his debut for the first team in October 2011. Tipped for a bright future, he was making steady progress before an incident which seems to have gone a long way in damaging his relationship with Los Vertiblancos. Apparently, he came on as a sub with his team in the ascendancy, before being at fault for a crucial goal which ultimately led to the game finishing in a draw. That on it's own isn't so bad, but he's rumoured to have stormed into the changing room after the match criticising his team-mates. Quite inadvisable, especially if you're a youngster trying to force your way into the first-team.

Pozuelo. Or, as I like to call him, Chachi.

How's he fared when he has played? This year he's started four games and made a further seven appearances from the bench, scoring one goal and not managing any assists. To be honest, reports that I've read seem to state that after the aforementioned clash in the dressing room, he was banished to the B team, and when you consider that the previous season he started ten games (plus another eight as a sub) it does seem to indicate he'd fallen out of favour.

Statistically, he holds up fairly well despite the limited game-time he's enjoyed this season. He completed 82.8% of his passes, and despite most of his appearances being of the "token 20 minutes" variety he managed an average of 18.5 passes per game. He also managed 1.2 long balls, and 0.7 key passes per appearance, so it seems he's got an eye for a pass, but he only managed 0.7 shots per game (registering 7 in total all season), so he definitely can't be labelled a lethal finisher. Still only 21, there's plenty of time for him to rediscover the spark which once saw a £5million price-tag placed on his head, and he'll likely be viewing a move to SA1 as a fresh start. At half a million the Swans could be picking up a real bargain. Again.

Whoscored.com have his strengths as "passing & through balls", but his weaknesses make for funnier reading. In red, at the top of the list, is discipline, before aerial duels, finishing, and defensive contribution all make an appearance in a slightly less worrying orange - everyone loves a hot head, right?

This is the kind of transfer we should always be in the market for. He's young, likely to be hungry to succeed in one of the big European leagues and more importantly, it's essentially a free transfer given the ludicrous state of today's transfer market. The one worry I do have is that the Swansea squad is very tight-knit, and it'd be a shame to bring a player in who'd threaten the harmony in the dressing room. It's more than possible, however, that he'll mature into a very fine player indeed, and I for one wouldn't mind him doing that at Swansea.