Swansea keeping tabs on Diamanti – Italian reports
ball at his feet and getting a deserved reward with his goal, which put Clement’s men ahead at the break.
Oli McBurnie caught the eye after the break too, but this was an early reminder of what Ayew can offer. LAPSES PROVIDE SOME CAUSE FOR CONCERN AS UNION ARE LET OFF THE HOOK Kyle Bartley and Alfie Mawson impressed during the opening half before making way for Mike van der Hoorn and Federico Fernandez, with the latter pairing having a less assured outing after the break.
For the majority of the first hour Swansea were solid wiithout the ball - before the game opened out in the final 30 minutes - but they still ended up level in a game they controlled for long parts.
Given their comfort in the general flow of the game, Clement would not have been too happy to see his side concede two sloppy goals, as well as giving up goalscoring opportunities far too easily during the Union’s rare attacls during the periods either side of the interval when Swansea were firmly on top.
The loose pass from Luciano Narsingh for the penalty, and the failure to track Simpson’s run were SWANSEA City are in talks with Italian veteran Alessandro Diamanti, according to reports in Italy.
Sky Italia state discussions have already taken place between the club and the 34-year-old, with Sampdoria also vying for his signature.
Currently with Palermo, the former international is not prepared to drop down into Serie B following the Rosanero’s relegation last season.
Diamanti has endured a nomadic career to date.
He signed for West Ham in August 2009 and made a decent impact at Upton Park before his CV brief lapses that will not matter much now, but the consequences of such errors will be more serious when points are at stake.
There is plenty of time to eradicate them, and there is no suggestion they were simply down to the back four, but meandered from Italy, China, back to the Premier League with Watford before signing for Palermo on a free last summer.
The set-piece specialist could serve as a replacement of sorts for Gylfi Sigurdsson, who is heavily linked with a move to Everton this summer.
La Gazzetta dello Sport say Serie A side Sampdoria, who Swansea face in a friendly at the Liberty next month, are monitoring his situation.
Last season he scored one goal and contributed five assists in 31 league appearances for the Italian side. they were frustrating nonetheless. THE PRESSING GAME PROVES EFFECTIVE This was an area Clement and his coaching staff worked hard to improve following their January arrivals, and it has clearly been carried over into the start of their pre-season work.
Swansea surprised the Union by pressing high and in numbers, despite the heat and humidity, and had plenty of joy as a result.
They regularly broke up the play of the hosts, who are well into their season, gaining a territorial foothold that formed the basis of the recovery from the early penalty.
But there was a discipline to it too, players working together in small groups of two and three, co-ordinating the press while not leaving Swansea exposed should the Union find a way out.
Clement had spoken of the need to get his players fitter in order to play the sort of football he wants, and this looks to be an important element of that. Okay, players were only being asked to do it for 45 minutes on this occasion, but the understanding and application when implementing that plan was encouraging, and bodes well if it can be built on by the time the serious stuff comes around in mid-August.
Overall, Clement will no doubt feel there was plenty he can take from this performance before the tour resumes with a midweek fixture against Richmond Kickers in the early hours of Thursday morning.