Skipper Grimes pens new Swans deal
MATT Grimes has signed a new fouryear deal at Swansea City.
The midfielder has committed his future to the club after being heavily linked with a moves to Fulham and Bournemouth in the summer, penning a deal that will keep him at the Swansea.com Stadium until 2025.
The skipper has emerged as one of the club’s star performers under boss Russell Martin, who recently revealed that the 26-year-old was keen to stay in south Wales.
Grimes, whose previous deal was set to expire at the end of the season, is the only Swans player to have played every minute of Championship football for the club this season.
“It’s an incredible signing for the football club. It would have cost a lot of money to replace him,” Martin told the club’s official website.
Meanwhile, Jamie Paterson is NOT eligible to play for Wales, the Western Mail has learned.
Speculation over the forward’s international availability has been the subject of speculation recently after he seemingly suggested on social media that he qualified for a call-up through his grandfather.
Paterson’s red-hot form for the Swans has earned him plenty of admirers, while his South Wales derby winner against Cardiff City has seen him become a cult hero with the Jack Army. Some were clearly keen to see him pull on the famous red shirt too.
After a fan tweeted the former Bristol City man with the message: “I hope that @jamiepaterson12 mams sisters cousins grandmother twice removed is Welsh,” Paterson replied: “My Grandads (sic) from neath!”
Swans boss Russell Martin, who watched Wales take on Belgium earlier this week, even said that the opportunity to play for Wales would be of interest to the player.
“I think he’d like to explore it,” he said. I think he’s eligible for Scotland as well. We’ll have to wait and see. The way he’s been taken in by everyone at Swansea and what he’s felt here is a real connection.”
But while Paterson may still be eligible for Scotland, sources at the FAW have told the Western Mail that Paterson does not qualify for a callup from Rob Page as, while his grandfather was raised in Neath, it’s believed he wasn’t born in Wales.