SPORT Clucas is linked as Swansea get ready to spend
PAUL Clement and Swansea City’s owners have been burning the midnight oil as they plot how to splash the cash received for Gylfi Sigurdsson – with Hull midfielder Sam Clucas the latest target to emerge.
The club-record sum the Swans have received from the Iceland international’s move to Everton has freed up Clement to go after the players he wants to bring in over the final two weeks of the transfer window.
They include West Brom’s Nacer Chadli, Manchester City striker Wilfried Bony and former star Joe Allen, as well as Clucas, with Swansea pursuing numerous options before landing as many as three new faces before the end of the month.
And Clement has made clear to the club’s hierarchy that failing to land reinforcements over the final fortnight of the transfer window is simply not an option.
“The discussions are moving all the time,” said Clement.
“As close as last night I was on the phone for an hour with Steve and Jason. I made it very clear where I think we need reinforcements.
“We have number one targets, but what do you do if those don’t come off? Do nothing? There has to be a contingency plan and we’re ready for those things.”
Clucas, 26, is not seen as a direct replacement for Sigurdsson, given he operates in a deeper role than the new Toffees signing.
But Clement says he is looking to bring in up to three new players and suggested yesterday that one of the additions could be a midfielder.
Clucas, who started his career at Leicester, impressed for the Tigers last season, but could not help them retain top-flight status as they returned to the Championship.
Hull rejected a £10million offer from Burnley earlier this week, and it has been reported that the East Yorkshire club are seeking a fee of around £20million.
It is thought the Tigers would be prepared to part with Clucas, who has two years remaining on his contract at KCOM Stadium. West Brom are also thought to be interested.
Clucas has had an unlikely rise to the top flight. After being released by Leicester and Lincoln City, he played non-league football before doing enough in trials at Bisham Abbey to win a two-year scholarship to the Glenn Hoddle Academy in Spain.
He signed for Hereford before climbing the ranks via Mansfield, Chesterfield and now Hull.
Chadli’s future under Tony Pulis at West Brom is in doubt just 12 months after a £15m move from Tottenham.
There have been reports of the Baggies demanding £25m for the 28-year-old, but there are suggestions Swansea could make a deal happen at £20m or even less.
A deal to bring Bony back to the Liberty for a second spell is thought to be at an advanced stage, but hopes of a return to SA1 for Allen look to be fading with the Potters determined to hang on to the Wales international. More Swans: Pages 46&47
GYLFI Sigurdsson told Swansea City he wanted to leave the Liberty Stadium as early as the end of last season, manager Paul Clement has revealed.
And he pulled out of the club’s pre-season tour of the States in the belief he was about to get his way – despite being warned he was wrong by the Swans boss.
Sigurdsson became the Swans’ most expensive sale when he completed his move to Everton this week in a deal thought to be worth as much as £45m.
It came following protracted discussions between the two clubs that Swans sources say they felt forced into once Sigurdsson had made it clear he saw his future away from south Wales, coming when the Iceland international told management he did not want to join teammates on the 10-day trip to America just hours before he had been due to board the flight from Heathrow.
Clement admitted he was surprised when Sigurdsson informed him of his choice at the London hotel, having played in the team’s opening pre-season fixture at Barnet the previous night.
But, giving his final words on the saga before pressing on with recruitment plans, Clement said he was already aware Sigurdsson had wanted to quit the club.
“I made it clear to Gylfi at the end of last season, and through conversations I had via texts with him over the summer, that I would like him to stay,” said Clement as he addressed questions before tomorrow’s home clash with Manchester United.
“His view was that he would like the opportunity to potentially embark on another challenge.
“So, I was aware from the end of last season. The conversations were open and frank, but you still hope there might be a change of mind.
“It might have been: ‘The fans want you here, the owners want you here, I want you here’ and the answer could have been ‘OK, I’ll stay.’ But that wasn’t the case.”
Majority shareholder Steve Kaplan is thought to have also told Sigurdsson of his wishes to hold onto the 27-year-old at the end of the last campaign in which the No.10 played a key role in helping Clement’s side avoid Premier League relegation.
Just days before the final game of the season against West Brom, Sigurdsson had not been prompted when he said he was not looking to leave Swansea, saying having received the club’s player of the year award: “I expect to stay. I signed a new contract last summer and I’ve got three years left, so it’s down to the club if they want to sell me. It’s down to them, but I’m very happy here.
“I’m not trying to leave, not desperate to go or anything.”
Yet several Swans sources are adamant they were prepared to fight off