Premier League beckons or could Southampton or Leicester City move?

Joel Piroe is likely to be a man in demand this summer with many rumours suggesting that there could be a host of Premier League and Championship sides eyeing up a potential move this summer.

The obvious one of those side is of course Southampton who are on the verge of appointing Russell Martin as their new manager.   The links could be real or the links could be lazy but there will be a natural amount of speculation linking Piroe with a south coast move as a direct result.   For Southampton the move will make sense as Piroe has proven himself more than capable at this level and they could easily see him as the man to spearhead their campaign as they look for an immediate Premier League return.

The same could be said for Leicester City who were reported last summer as keeping an eye on the progress of Joel.    That never went more than an interest in the player but with their relegation from the Premier League confirmed last weekend could they now turn that interest into something more concrete this summer?

The interest from either of those two clubs would certainly be of benefit to the Swans with both having higher budgets than many other Championship clubs although the question has to be how much could the Swans hold out for should they choose to cash in on their leading scorer from the last two seasons.

There are two key factors at stage to determine what that figure may be.   Piroe’s twenty plus goals at this level for the past two seasons should make him a valuable commodity.  However, we cannot lose sight of the fact that Piroe will be entering the last year of his contract this season.   Put those two together and you maybe draw a conclusion that around £8m could end up sufficient to prise him away from SA1.   Many will argue that the fee should be higher but Piroe could also choose to spend one more season down here in Swansea and earn himself a lucrative pay day on a free transfer in twelve months.   The dilemma is here and one that the Swans must reach a conclusion on and if they are determined to hold on then a new contract discussion should be high on the agenda of the likes of Andy Coleman and Paul Watson.

Beyond Leicester and Southampton who else could show an interest?  I certainly wouldn’t write off any of the promoted trio this season.   Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton will all be on the look out for new signings this summer and, in the same way the Swans did in 2011, could they look to one of the Championship’s leading scorers to help them in the step up to the top flight?   Certainly not one to write off.

Then there are those who may show an interest in the Premier League.   Brentford need an option for the first half of the season at least.   Fulham and Crystal Palace will want to build on their relative comfort in the season just gone and then of course there is the likes of Nottingham Forest who have not been adverse to the odd signing since their promotion twelve months ago.

None of the mentioned names should be totally discounted and that is before we consider that there could be interest from other countries especially from the Netherlands who will not be oblivious to the progress Piroe has made over the past two years.

It seems inevitable though that the Swans will have a fight on their hands this summer to keep hold of Joel.  The owners may well choose to cash in to generate a bigger transfer budget for the new incoming manager and it maybe that said new manager may have his own striker target he believes can replace Piroe.

The downside to the speculation is that, as is often the case, any transfer activity does not come early in the window and this means that we could spend time working and building around Piroe this summer only to see him depart in August.   It’s the unknown but players like Piroe do not tend to be early transfers in a window.

I think most are resigned to the fact that Piroe will probably depart during the summer window, the big questions then become where, how much and who replaces him.

Just another period of uncertainty on top of the current levels already there.