Brighton in Celina link, but no approach made
Bersant Celina turned in arguably his best display of the season in Swansea City’s 2-1 win over Wigan.
The Kosovan ran riot at times and produced a moment of magic to set up Andre Ayew, who scored what proved to be the winning goal against the Latics.
And in the aftermath of the triumph over Paul Cook’s men, reports in the national media claimed Brighton were weighing up a move for the 23-year-old.
Celina is known only too well by the Seagulls, now managed by former Swansea boss Graham Potter.
The manager signed Celina from Man City in the 2018 summer transfer window and saw the attacker flourish under his leadership at the Liberty Stadium.
But what of the reported interest? Kyle Macaulay – the Swans’ former head of recruitment who followed Potter in making the move from South Wales to Brighton - has been seen at Swansea games this season.
He was in attendance for the preseason victory over Atalanta while he was also spotted in the stands in the 3-1 win at Queens Park Rangers.
It’s understood that Swansea have not received any official approaches for Celina, although it goes without saying, that could change in the final days of the month.
Speaking after completing the loan capture of Conor Gallagher from Chelsea, Steve Cooper admitted he didn’t expect Swansea to make any further signings this month.
However, he did concede that further players could follow Sam Surridge and Kristoffer Nordfeldt through the exit door in the final days of the transfer window.
The Swans are eager to offload some of their fringe stars in a bid to further reduce the wage bill while they could also allow members of the Under-23s squad to leave on loan.
Although speaking after the win against Wigan – a result that lifted Swansea back into the Championship’s play-off places – Cooper said there were no updates on the transfer front.
“There’s no updates. The opinion hasn’t changed,” he said.
“There’s a few players that we won’t stand in their way if we think it’s right that they move on.
“All of those decisions on ins and out will be for the greater good of the football club.
“But there’s no names to mention in terms of outgoings.”
■ Swansea City winger Kristoffer Peterson has joined Utrecht on loan for the remainder of the 2019-20 season.
The Swedish attacker signed for Swansea last summer from Dutch outfit Heracles for a fee in the region of £650,000.
He is the only player signed by Steve Cooper that Swansea paid a transfer fee for, with the other additions being loan signings, while Jake Bidwell arrived on a free.
However, a combination of factors, including a lack of a full pre-season, a minor illness and poor form have ensured the 25-year-old has struggled to nail down a place in Cooper’s plans.
And it has been confirmed that he has secured a loan switch to Eredivisie side Utrecht for the rest of the season. Utrecht are currently seventh in the 18-team Dutch top flight.
The deal includes the option for Utrecht to make Peterson’s move permanent in the summer.
Peterson worked under Cooper during the Swansea head coach’s time in the youth set-up at Liverpool.
Peterson made 11 appearances for Swansea in all competitions this season, his only goal coming in the 6-0 Carabao Cup second-round win over Cambridge United in August.
He follows striker Sam Surridge and goalkeeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt in leaving Swansea this month.