Planet Swans ArchivesSidibe joined The Swans from CA Paris to put himself in the shop window, and as expected he showed glimpses of his true form with goals at Torquay United and live on SKY TV when The Swans demolished QPR in the FA Cup 1st round.
It didn’t take long for the scouts to become aware of the big man and he was watched by Wigan, Barnsley and Manchester City during the month of November. However, the only deal that Swansea could further was the approach from Steve Parkin at Barnsley.
Parkin, already with the signature of Ex Swan Gary Jones ( £150,000 ) to his name was determined to bolster his attack with a big striker to work alongside Mike Sharon. Jones, signed by Jan Molby when he was Swansea manager, was given a free transfer by the Swans, something which amazed many football watchers at the time.
His worth is now proven, and any witness to the Barnsley win against Sheffield Wednesday last Sunday will tell you that Jones could have offered so much more to The Swans had he been given the opportunity. Having watched Sidibe on four occasions Barnsley agreed a bid of £200,000 with Swansea which should have seen him sign for the Yorkshire side on Wednesday.
At Mansfield last Saturday Tony Petty was flanked by Sidibe’s brother, a tormented looking figure, and his agent Gerard’. Unfortunately for Gerard’ he failed to negotiate a sell on deal with Swansea in the summer, and found out quickly that his request for £33,000 was to fall on deaf ears, In both Swansea and Barnsley.
A good source to JackArmy.net tells us that the deal is now off as far as Barnsley are concerned, and after Sidibe’s poor showing in front of Parkin at Mansfield on Saturday maybe that is a good thing for the club. For Swans fans it means that Sidibe can now settle down to keeping the club that gave him a break in the third division, and returning to Moss Rose on Saturday to carry on where he left off at the start of the season. Sidibe scored one of three Swansea goals as they beat Macclesfield 3-1.
His agent won’t be happy, and from the look on Sidibe’s brothers face on Saturday he won’t be either. Both the player and his brother watched Barnsley defeat Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday when the deal looked almost done. That was until the football agent had the last word, and for the good of Swansea City messed up a deal that would have seen the big man head north for the rest of the season.
As it happens, for now he is staying, which can be no bad thing for Swansea City.
