Clock is ticking as Cooper looks to bolster his squad
TIME is running out for Swansea City to make further signings.
Steve Cooper has already added five players to his squad this summer, although he’s in desperate need of additional recruits in the coming weeks.
Ahead of the Championship clash with Wycombe Wanderers, the head coach issued the clearest message yet that he feels his squad is desperately lacking in certain areas.
And while he wouldn’t put a figure on the number of fresh faces he feels he still needs, it’s blindingly obvious that Swansea have to bolster a few positions in the squad.
A striker remains the priority, although, in an ideal world, they’d bring in two frontmen.
It’s understood Cooper is desperate to bring in a ready-made number nine as well as a back-up forward - similar to Sam Surridge last year - in the final days of the window.
However, as things stand, it appears unlikely that he will bring in two strikers, although one remains a possibility.
Rhian Brewster looks increasingly like securing a move away from Liverpool to another Premier League club, with Crystal Palace and Sheffield United the two frontrunners to sign the 20-year-old.
Charlton Athletic’s Macauley Bonne appears to be out of Swansea’s price range given that Cooper admitted in his latest press conference that the club are very much shopping in the loan and free agent markets.
And, at present, Brighton’s Viktor Gyokeres appears to be the most realistic option. The Swedish forward played in the Seagulls’ Carabao Cup wins over Portsmouth and Preston, and the Swans are awaiting Graham Potter’s decision on the 22-year-old.
Should the former Swansea boss opt against sending Gyokeres out on loan for the campaign, Cooper will have to rely on his contacts once again, or hope that head of recruitment Andy Scott can pull a rabbit out of the hat late on in the window.
It’s no doubt an alarming situation for the Jack Army who have seen the likes of Michu, Fernando Llorente and Wilfried Bony rip it up against Premier League defences only a few years ago.
It’s perhaps telling that Swansea have not signed an out-and-out number nine on a permanent basis since Bony re-joined the club from Man City in the 2017 summer transfer window.
And even more worryingly, Swansea have signed only two centre-forwards- Brewster and Surridge - since dropping out of the Premier League more than two years ago.
In the same time frame, Brewster, Courtney Baker-richardson, Oli Mcburnie, Bony, Botti Biabi, Borja Baston and Jordan Ayew have all left the club. Something quite simply has to change.
Meanwhile, having lost Mike van der Hoorn and Ben Wilmot in the summer, Swansea are incredibly light at centre-back.
And if they are to continue to utilise three central defenders, they are in crucial need of an additional options at the heart of their defence.
Interest in Derrick Williams remains, although, as with other targets, it appears unlikely that a swoop for the Republic of Ireland international will happen in the coming days given that Blackburn will command a seven-figure fee for the defender.
Cooper will not want to resort to the square pegs in round holes situation he found himself in for the 2-0 Carabao Cup first round loss to Newport County where Jay Fulton and
Kyle Naughton both played in a back three.
With a brutal schedule to come, Swansea are also thin on options at left-back, particularly if first-choice Jake Bidwell became unavailable.
Declan John has been told he can leave the club, and, while the likes of Naughton and Connor Roberts have operated on the left over the course of the last two campaigns, it’s another position that Cooper has cause to be
concerned about.
So, having flown out of the blocks early on in the transfer window, Swansea clearly still have a lot of work to do.
It looks as though four further additions would now be the ideal scenario, and this is working on the basis that no players depart. But it already appears as though the reality is that fans won’t see that many incomings.
GRAHAM Potter says he is happy with Viktor Gyokeres’s current status at Brighton.
However, the ex-swansea manager admitted that the Seagulls remain “open-minded” about his future development.
Potter’s comments come after the Swedish forward’s outings for Brighton in their Carabao Cup wins over Portsmouth and Preston.
Swansea are keen to bolster their forward options by signing the 22-year-old on a season-long loan deal from the Premier League side.
And, speaking ahead of his side’s clash with Manchester United, Potter discussed Gyokeres’ current situation amid interest from his former employers.
“I thought he worked away [against Preston] again. It was a tough ask for him, up against a couple of centre-backs and he took the fight a lot,” said the Brighton boss.
“He ran lots and had opportunities and contributed to a win and contributed to a clean sheet in terms of how the team defended.
“So that is the challenge for him, to keep those steps going. It is only probably his second game for a while, certainly with us. So the more we know him, the more he knows us, I am sure the better he will get.
“But there is always a point where you have to make the right decision for him and us in terms of what pathway for his development is and we are open-minded about that. But at the moment he is with us and I am happy with that and happy with him.”