Swans rivals who’ve been busy window shopping
THE transfer window closes three weeks today and the race is on for Championship managers to finalise their squad options.
Swansea City have brought in Joel Asoro, Yan Dhanda and Jordi Govea so far as Graham Potter seeks to mould his team.
In the opposition direction have gone Lukasz Fabianski, Ki SungYueng, Roque Mesa, Borja Baston (loan) and Kyle Bartley, with a number of others poised for exits.
The squad is in a state of flux... but how are their rivals faring?
takes a look at the teams who will likely be Swansea’s competition this season and assessed their transfer business...
STOKE CITY Ins:
Benik Afobe (Wolves, £12m), Oghenekaro Etebo (Feirense, £6.5m), Adam Federici (Bournemouth, undisclosed)
Xherdan Shaqiri (Liverpool, £12m), Ramadan Sobhi (Huddersfield, £5m), Marc Muniesa (Girona, £4.5m), Lee Grant (Manchester United, £1m), Kevin Wimmer (Hannover, loan). THE most significant business the Potters have done this summer is to have kept Joe Allen in the ranks. The Welshman has pledged his future to the club by signing a new deal, which is a huge statement of intent from Gary Rowett’s team. Jack Butland is still there at present, but he is likely to depart.
Tom Ince is wanted to provide service to the strikers, while Daniel
Outs:
Amartey remains a target.
And could James Chester be heading to the bet365 Stadium? £8million is the asking price...
Stoke will be there or there abouts come the end of the campaign.
West Brom Ins:
Sam Johnstone (Manchester United, £6m), Kyle Bartley (Swansea City, £4m), Jonathan Bond (Reading, free)
Outs:
Jonny Evans (Leicester City, £3.6m), Ben Foster (Waftord, undisclosed), Yuning Zhang (Den Haag, loan)
THE Baggies have taken Bartley off Swansea’s hands in a £4million deal as Darren Moore puts his stamp on his title candidates. He could, however, lose key men Craig Dawson and Jay Rodriguez as Burnley step up their interest in the pair. Nacer Chadli is also expected to leave the Midlands after catching the eye in Russia this summer.
The club are expected to sell before they buy, according to BirminghamLive . Salomon Rondon is a target for Newcastle United, while Matt Phillips is a wanted man.
Middlesbrough Ins:
Aden Flint (Bristol City, £7.2m), Paddy McNair (Sunderland, £5.1m)
Fabio (Nantes, £1.8m), Antonio Barragan (Real Betis, £900k), Tomas Mejas (Omonia Nikosia, free) TONY Pulis hasn’t brought in that many so far but he’s been linked with
Outs:
a plethora of players. Britt Assombalonga has reportedly been offered to West Brom in their attempt to sign Baggies man Phillips. They are also in the race to sign Albert Adomah from Aston Villa and his team-mate Birkir Bjarnason.
Pulis is also tracking Bristol City’s Joe Bryan, but a £10million price tag may turn them off. He also likes Dawson from West Brom, but competition is stern for his signature.
Nottingham Forest Ins:
Joao Carvalho (Benfica, £13.5m), Lewis Grabban (Bournemouth, £6.1m), El Arbi Hillel Soudani (Dinamo Zagreb, £2.7m), Tobias Figueiredo (Sporting, £2m), Michael Dawson (Hull, free), Jack Robinson (QPR, free), Gil Dias (Monaco, free), Costel Pantilimon (Watford, undisclosed), Diogo Goncalves (Benfica, loan)
David Vaughan (Notts County, free), Tyler Walker (Mansfield, loan), Andreas Bouchalakis (Olympiacos, undisclosed), Jason Cummings (Peterborough, loan), Eric Lichaj (Hull City, undisclosed).
FOREST have been by far the busiest club in the Championship this summer, splashing the cash on star Carvalho. As such it has seen the club’s title odds shorten dramatically .
Aitor Karanka also wants Jack Colback and Sam Byram before the August 9 deadline. And could Lee Tomlin find a permanent home at the City Ground?
It could be a very interesting
Outs:
season in the East Midlands.
Leeds United Ins: Jamal Blackman (Chelsea, loan), Lewis Baker (Chelsea, loan) Outs: Felix Wiedwald (Frankfurt, loan), Jay-Roy Grot (VVV-Venlo, loan), Marcus Antonsson (Malmo, undisclosed), Madger Gomes (Sochaux, undisclosed)
MARCELO Bielsa’s arrival at Elland Road will no doubt trigger a late flurry of activity in Yorkshire. He wants Senegal striker Mbaye Diagne, Brentford’s Florian Jozefzoon and he’s also fighting to keep hold of Cardiff City target Ronaldo Vieira .
The Argentine’s tenure will be anything but boring. Expect fireworks on and off the pitch.
Derby County Ins:
Harry Wilson (Liverpool, loan), Mason Mount (Chelsea, loan)
Andreas Weimann (Bristol City, £2.25m), Chris Baird (free), Jason Shackell (free), Darren Bent (free) FRANK Lampard is just getting his feet under the table at Pride Park but he has already brought in two promising youngsters on loan. Swansea, of course, were in the running for Liverpool’s Wilson.
The Rams are tracking Brentford’s Florian Jozefzoon, with the Bees confirming they have accepted a bid from an unnamed club. Leeds also want him.
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Outs: