Swansea City considering Whittaker recall from Plymouth Argyle

Swansea City are seriously considering recalling Morgan Whittaker from his loan spell at Plymouth as they look bolster a squad that is likely to see several departures this January alongside the usual arrivals.

Whittaker has shone for the Pilgrims this season with 9 league goals to his credit to add to the 5 he scored on loan with Lincoln at the same level last season.

With expected departures this window for both Jamie Paterson and Michael Obafemi the Swans will be lighter on attacking options going into what Russell Martin is hoping will be a promotion push and sources close to the club suggest that they are considering enforcing the clause that allows them to recall Morgan to SA1.

The clause – relatively standard in all season long loans – has bit us in the last couple of seasons with Ethan Laird, Rhys Williams and now Fin Stevens all recalled by their clubs but this time it could be a benefit and Whittaker could be back with the Swans before our League clash at Sunderland in just under two weeks time.

Whittaker was on target again yesterday for the promotion chasing Plymouth side and their manager, Steven Schumacher, admitted after the game that he did not know what January held for his star man.  “At the moment there isn’t a plan in place to take him back,” he told BBC Radio Devon.

“The clause is in the contract for both ways, we’ll just see how that develops.

“I don’t know what the window is that they’ve got to bring him back, but at the moment we’ve got no indication to say that he’s going to go back, which is great.

“I think everyone can see how good he is, he’s been a brilliant player for us this season, he’s contributed goals and assists and he’s one of the key reasons why we’re at the top of the league.

“There’s no surprise what he’s doing – week in, week out we see him in training every day and he looks as though he’s really enjoying his football, which is the most important thing with Morgan.

“He’s a character that’s got to have a clear plan. I’ve shown how much I care about him and he’ll produce performances like that.”

Whittaker was signed for the Swans back in February 2021 but has made just six starts for the club, netting five goals.   His form at Plymouth this season will have made clubs sit up and take notice with rumours of an Ipswich bid having surfaced earlier this season.

A recall for the Swans would make sense especially with the out of favour Paterson and Obafemi seemingly on their way out and Whittaker would provide a more than obvious replacement for either one of those two players.    Which is of course dependent on them being shipped out in January – interest in both may be harder to drum up than we think?

The Swans have of course been heavily linked with Chiedozie Ogbene and need funds to secure that transfer if they want to progress with it which certainly means departures from SA1 during this window.   And maybe not the obvious ones that are under discussion.

Interesting times.