Transfer rumour roundup

A look at the plethora of players we've been linked with over the last few days

Well, the media circus has now gone into overdrive. As one friend has suggested, it's possible the Swans are being used by agents to drum up interest in their clients by putting their name into a sentence with "Swansea City", but it seems there's something in at least one or two of the rumours. 

Probably the most exciting name to crop up is that of Wilfried Bony. The Ivorian set the Eredivisie alight - scoring 31 goals in 30 league games (43 in 62 through all competitions), and is valued at £10mil+ by his club Vitesse. Likely? Who knows. If we're going to pay up to around £10million for a player, which I'm still not convinced will be the case, I'd rather we spend it on Bony than Bafetimbi Gomis, who is rated at around the same price but has never had a season as prolific as the man from the Ivory Coast.

One rumour which seems to have an element of truth in it is that we've made a loan bit for Matej Vydra. His agent has said that up to eight clubs are interested in his client's signature, and that Swansea are one of a number of clubs who've made loan bids for last year's Championship Player of the Season. I'll be honest, I didn't watch too much of the Championship last year but if he stood out that much playing for a Watford team littered with supposed "star loanees", picking him up without having to pay a fee could well be a really tidy bit of business. He's valued at between £8million and £10million by his parent club Udinese, but they seem willing to let him spend another season on loan as he looks to kick on again.

Jordi Amat is another name that's now been linked with the club for a while, and the Spanish centre-back is rumoured to be close to signing, while we've also reportedly had a bid accepted for Nathan Redmond - the latter is an exciting prospect, very much in the Scott Sinclair mould, while the defensive cover Amat would bring could be key if Kyle Bartley departs, as expected, on loan to Birmingham.

Last but not least, yesterday Jonjo Shelvey dropped to 1/8 to be at the Swans next season, and the press seem to be running with the idea we want to sign him for £5million. To be completely honest, I've never seen Shelvey play well and I'm really not enthused by this one, but as usual I'm completely willing to be proved wrong. There's a reason I'm not a football manager. 

Actually, there's probably a couple...

Luke Moore may have shown Kyle Bartley that sometimes saying nothing is the best option...

Swansea striker has had to bide his time this season. 

Following Swansea's win over Newcastle, where Luke Moore snatched victory in a match which seemed to be heading for a stalemate, there have been lots of quotes from Luke which, whilst oft-repeated by others in their nature, are satisfying nonetheless.

Interestingly, the Evening Post deemed fit to miss out a sentence of Luke Moore's interview (highlighted in bold):

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that I've been frustrated this season.When you're not playing, it can be a lonely place. But I haven't asked for a meeting with Michael because I don't think it's the right time. 

"I love playing for Swansea. To my mind there are no more knowledgeable fans. I'm not the sort of player who plays up to the crowd. I just get on with my job but I definitely appreciate the fans and it's a great place to play football — if you're playing. On a Saturday there are not many better places to play your football than in front of the fans here. You pass it backwards and they don't mind, they understand football and for me as a player I am very appreciative of that."  

"I'm happy because there is not a nicer bunch of lads in the league. They are all down to earth and there are no big-time players so I'm happy. I haven't asked for a meeting because I don't think it's the time. I'm a good professional and I just get on with things. There's no point moping about. I need to finish the season as best as I can, and that's all I can do. 

"I've got another year left so we'll see. I just want to concentrate on the latter part of the season and hopefully I can kick on. Like everything in football things can change from one club to the next so we'll see. As a professional footballer that's what it's about — you want to try to do your best and kick on. 

"You want to be as professional as you can and not let the side down. That's the most important thing." Luke Moore

Firstly - does anyone else see the fabulous irony in the sentence "I'm not the sort of player who plays up to the crowd" being preceded by "there are no more knowledgeable fans [than Swansea's]"? Nice bit of PR there Luke, subtle that. In fairness it can't be easy sitting on the sidelines - especially when Itay Shechter has been playing ahead of you. Surely Shechter has now produced one blunt display too many, with even hardened optimists admitting he doesn't have the strength or quality to lead the Swansea line. Luke Moore comes across as a very unassuming type, and always has a seemingly surprised expression on his face, and it will have been as much of a shock to him as to anyone else that he found himself grabbing the headlines. As the quotes show, he hasn't rocked the boat or even nagged Laudrup, just got on with his job and he may yet do enough to warrant a contract extension. Personally, I would like to see us sign at least one, possibly two strikers ahead of next season - although I'm aware the Swans aren't suddenly going to start splashing the cash. Iago Aspas has been touted around but his club are reluctant to sell and the fee involved is likely a little rich for Huw. It remains to be seen who we'll bring in but I wouldn't bet against messrs Jenkins & Laudrup springing a rabbit (or two) from a hat between them.

Another player who has watched from the sidelines this season is Kyle Bartley. When Garry Monk came off the bench at Wembley I did feel for Kyle, although I did wonder if perhaps the fact he'd given an interview to local media in the aftermath of the Liverpool game, where he stated he'd be disappointed to miss out, worked against him. In the interview he also stated that he didn't think making seven changes had helped the Swans, which, while probably true, is surely something Michael Laudrup won't want to hear. Bartley did concede that his own performance, along with others, had been below par, but whether that worked for or against him it's hard to say. Either way, he missed out on playing at Wembley and can realistically feel hard done by, but football is cruel at times. The complete domination enjoyed by Swansea means it's impossible to criticise team selection, even if a large section of the Swansea support, myself included, were not convinced of Ki's defensive credentials.

Bartley could learn a thing or two from Moore's apparent handling of the media. All he's talked about is how it's frustrating - which you want from a professional footballer having to watch from the sidelines - and how he likes playing here - whereas Bartley was stating his case and saying that he'd be disappointed if he didn't play. I'm sure between now and the end of the season Kyle will have opportunities to impress, so it'll be interesting to see if he gives any interviews in the build up to, and fall out from, matches, and if so what he talks about.

Laudrup: "Barca played with 19 senior players and some youth players, played every three days and it was fine"

Well, ok Michael but football is different to when you played, and British football is slightly more hot on the "charging around like a headless chicken for 90 minutes". I'm not saying I know more about any aspect of football than Laudrup, however I do know from watching a lot of La Liga that the British game is most definitely played at a faster pace and with a higher intensity. Maybe it's simply the weather, who knows, but I'd say to have only 19 senior players would be a massive risk, given the unpredictable nature of football. Players requesting transfers, as well as injuries, can throw a spanner into the works, and we've been incredibly lucky this season that Ben Davies has stepped up to the plate so well - as Neil Taylor was one of the Swans more consistent performers. Davies has filled in without anyone batting an eyelid and some, myself included, are starting to think Taylor will have to learn a secondary position once fit, such has been Davies continued improvement. 

"You won't have 27 players who are at the same level, so you will still have five or six who never play.I think if you take all the games this season, even the two-and-a-half months when we played every three days and had injuries, we always had a competitive team. 

"I don't recall us ever having only 15 or 16 players to choose from. I felt in that period everyone had an importance in the team. I think two players for each position is more than enough, just about 22 players. That way you can still have some young players, someone with talent and potential... 

"That means everyone feels important and the young players get the feeling that they are not so far away from playing." Michael Laudrup

Laudrup's point is, rightly, that the Swans squad is too big at present. A quick check of the official site tells me we've currently got 31 squad players - which is too many for a club the size of Swansea City - even given our wage restrictions. Players like Kemy Augustien, Mark Gower, Luke Moore & Darnel Situ need to stick their hand in the air if they want to save their place in the Swansea team - as I expect a (excuse the crudity of the word) cull this summer. Laudrup will likely have no qualms about clearing space in his squad if he feels he can improve the overall calibre of the players at his disposal, and with prospective European football, and improved funds for player acquisition, it's possible we could see a raft of new faces in South Wales this summer. There are ten games remaining, but it remains to be seen who stands up to be counted.