Cashing in... Mesa’s switch keeps the ball rolling as Swans look for cash influx
ROQUE Mesa became the latest Swansea City player to depart yesterday as he joined Sevilla on a permanent deal.
But he is not expected to be the last, with a number of high-profile stars also likely to leave.
With Lukasz Fabianski having already joined West Ham for £7 million, there is a chance that the Swans could pocket around £90 million if all these players go for their highest possible value.
But the odds on that are slim. First of all, some will have relegation release clauses which could mean the club don’t get the full market value when they depart.
Plus, relegation itself is another reason why Swansea may not be able to demand what they deem to be fair fees for players.
So just what are the true market values for these players and how much can the club expect them to go for?
ROQUE MESA £7-9 MILLION
Mesa has joined Spanish outfit Sevilla for an undisclosed fee after spending the latter half of last season there on loan.
He managed seven games for them, helping to them a seventhplace finish in La Liga and in the process securing Europa League qualification for next season.
A permanent deal was seen as a formality, with the loan deal thought to have included a buy-out option which Sevilla have since finalised with Swansea.
It is understood the fee will be around £7 million, with another £2 million in add-ons.
It is still a loss after he joined for £11 million on a four-year deal last summer, but at least the club recouped most of their fee after such an unsuccessful signing.
ALFIE MAWSON £15-20 MILLION
Swansea are understood to be asking for £20 million-plus for the English centre-back (inset), with West Ham having already balked at that price.
The Swans don’t seem willing to budge on that asking price, but Mawson has Premier League and international ambitions.
A similar scenario played out last season with Gylfi Sigurdsson, where the club never moved on their original asking price, only to buckle late in the window.
They may be better off compromising sooner rather than later this summer.
FEDERICO FERNANDEZ £7-10 MILLION
The Argentine centre-back has been linked with a move away as the Swans look to cut their wage bill. He has a contract until 2020 so the Swans have a bit of manoeuvre room when it comes to looking for a higher fee. But if they want to sell Fernandez to even up the wage books, they may be cautious not to price themselves out of a deal.
LEROY FER £6-10 MILLION
Fer has been recently recovering from a ruptured Achilles and there has been little talk of him leaving so far. But were he to go, the Swans could surely expect somewhere in the region of £6-10 million.
WILFRIED BONY £5-10 MILLION
It wasn’t a brilliant return to SA1 for the Ivorian striker last season as he struggled to recapture the form he produced in his first spell at the Liberty.
With the Swans having spent £12 million on him last year, you’d imagine they would want to recoup a fair sum of that.
But it seems unlikely.
The Swans are seemingly more likely to let him leave on loan, but reports suggest that Besiktas are not likely to match Swansea’s demand of a €3m loan fee.
ANDRE AYEW £10-15 MILLION
The first of the Ayew brothers on this list, Andre (inset) has been edging closer to a move away for a couple of weeks. The Swans should be able to command a solid fee for him, although maybe not enough to recoup the £18 million they paid to snare him from West Ham in January.
But given that they originally bought him on a free and sold him to the Hammers for £20 million after his first spell, they will still be in the black on this one.
JORDAN AYEW £8-12 MILLION
There was talk of an £8 million move from Fulham being knocked back by the Swans, suggesting they are holding out for more.
But Jordan’s spokesperson came out to say that the offer was never actually rejected to his knowledge.
He also asked: “If you were Jordan, between Premier League and Championship, which one would you choose?”
BORJA BASTON £2-5 MILLION
The Spanish striker joined the Swans two years ago for a fee of £15.5 million but his stock has fallen since then.
Having struggled for goals in SA1 in his debut season, he joined Malaga on loan last term, only to struggle again.
You imagine the Swans would have a hard time getting a return on their outlay with Baston.