How High Would You Go?

Grant Holt, Rochdale. Great striker and one of the few opposition players at the Vetch last season that really impressed me with his general play. Arrogant he most certainly was but to a degree most good players tend to have that arrogant factor about them. Trundle most certainly does on the pitch.

I have long been an advocate of wanting to see Grant Holt paired with Lee Trundle but today’s news that we have placed a six figure bid for the front man makes me wonder how high we are willing to go to get what is currently our number one target. Well, the only one we are prepared to admit to anyway.

£130,000 is a lot of money and as the Evening Post rightly points out it will be our most expensive signing since 1996 if it comes off. Although that says alot about the owners of the club in that period more than anything it also shows how far we have come as a club to be able to think about those kind of fees just a year since coming out of CVA.

The question we have to ask ourselves as a club is what is the maximum ceiling that we want to pay for this player? Rochdale fans have reported that it would have to be in excess of £300,000 – a figure that I find way too high for Holt and would prefer that kind of cash to be spent on proven strikers at this level with the likes of Jamie Cureton, Shaun Goater and Andy Morrell names that have already been banded about round the sites this summer.

I do doubt that figure of £300,000 as I do feel that it would take less than that to prise Holt from Rochdale. With the greatest of respect to a side that has to compete for support from much bigger fish within a 10/15 mile radius they will realise – whether they admit it or not – that any figure of £200,000 will get them several good players who will make them a stronger team even without Holt and a team that could even push for promotion next season.

But the decision remains unknown as to whether we would go to that figure and really whether we should do. We know that Kenny has been given a very generous budget to play with for next season and everybody should remember that that is in place especially when wondering why we haven’t signed anyone as yet. It is still early days and these signings will come and the right people in the right place will see next season be a decent enough one for the Swans. I still laugh when we get told we are not a very good side but facts are facts we were the third best side in the division last season. Yeah I’ve heard the comments before about this huge step up but as we saw in an article on here a few weeks back is the step up as big as we think it is? I remain to be convinced. It may be a big step to the top of League One but it most definitely is not a big step to mid table in league one.

For the record I believe Holt will cut it at league one level. He has the presence and the awareness to do so but even the signing of Holt would be fruitless unless we strengthen around him. We know the midfield is weak and unless that is strengthened then any striker is going to have his work cut out in scoring goals a plenty at White Rock next season.

My personal viewpoint on Holt is that we make one more bid. £150-£160k. If Rochdale reject it then fine we move on and look for another target. But to put things into perspective of the level we may be competing at next season, Marcus Stewart signed for Bristol City at £5k per week. Can we afford to pay a player quarter of a million per year? Probably. Should we do so? I personally don’t think so.

Holt is an interesting one but there comes a stage where the transfer fee becomes too high for what we should be prepared to pay and we move on. There are plenty out there and expect some player movement at the Vetch before the end of next week. The ground work has been done.