Phil SumblerAs the pieces of the Swansea City jigsaw start to be put together this summer then the transfer speculation will start to gather pace over the next few weeks and you can expect that a host of players will be linked with a move to Swansea City.
The imminent arrival of Paul Watson will see some of that speculation gather pace even if he has already had an impact on the club and we know that part of his remit will be to look around the lower leagues in the EFL and spot the talent that will benefit the club – both immediately and in the longer term when you give consideration to our player trading model.
So you can see why the speculation may start early and Sunday’s report suggests that the Swans are making a move for Exeter defender Josh Key. Now we know that this has been true in the past as it was well documented from the January window that Key was a target for us at that time. We won’t go into the detail as to why it never happened as the repitition of the issues that surrounded the January window will do nobody any good. They happened, they past and the changes seen as a result are there for us all to see.
Key is out of contract this summer and the report from Football Insider says that we are joined by both West Brom and Plymouth as being keen on a move for the youngster who made an impressive forty-eight appearances for the Grecians last season.
Four goals and two assists were the return from those appearances, which included thirty-eight starts in League One with Exeter finishing in relative mid table just a year after their promotion from League Two.
Speaking after the last game of last season Key said “I am out of contract so that says a lot. It is the end of season so I can’t really say what will be happening and I honestly don’t fully know. When something does come up, people will find out. At the moment I am still here, I want to enjoy today, and live in the moment, but couldn’t tell you what will happen
“Exeter is always in my heart and thoughts and if I stay or if I go, I will always be a Grecian through and through. I got promotion, they trusted me in the academy, and cannot thank this club more. I am really happy I have been able to play here.”
It has been widely speculated though that he will have played his last game for Exeter and with multiple Championship clubs interested that seems very likely. As a player out of contract and seemingly in demand it will not be lost on him – and his representatives – that their could be some lucrative days ahead this summer.
Key knows himself that his development is not complete as he added “I could have scored more goals so I need to work on my finishing, and have played loads of positions so it’s a learning year rather than a progressive year.
“I have learnt a lot as a player and I have to take that into next season and learn from it. I am happy to have done the job for the team and you have not seen the best of me yet so whatever I can do next season. I have to be better and add goals to my game to be a better player.”
Key would be a player that we believe could be an asset to the Swans. He certainly ticks many of the boxes that tend to be there when we are assessing the recruitment of a player and there is little doubt in our minds that he will be a name that will come up in discussions between Watson and Duff. Or maybe already has come up in discussions (if the FI report is to be believed)
As ever time will tell but we can see much logic in a move for Key if it happens.
Similar to Ogbeta!