Phil Sumbler
New Sporting Director Paul Watson has outlined some of the key aspects of the Swans summer transfer plans as he opened up at the end of his first “official” week at the club.
That word official is a key one as Watson was only confirmed at the start of the week by the club but he has been readily involved since he agreed to join the club before the end of last season.
His summer would not have gone to plan when he learned of the plans of Russell Martin to leave Swansea and head to Southampton and since then he will not have had many quiet moments to stop and reflect as he oversaw that departure and the appointment of Michael Duff as a replacement.
He has even managed to seemingly fit in the first signing of the summer in Josh Ginnelly with increasing rumours that Ellis Simms could also soon be arriving in SA1. The latter is rumoured to have been seen in the City and it does seem that the interest from Swansea is very real. Given the price tag on his head though it does appear that any move for Simms would be dependent on potentially Piroe being part of the deal but Watson is clear as well that there is money to spend on the squad this summer.
Watson is part of what feels like a big overhaul this summer that has also seen Julian Winter leave as well with new Chairman Andy Coleman another incoming person compared with two significant investors in the club.
For many of us that feels like a kind of reset operation is happening and the early signs are very good that this summer will be the one that we want it to be and there could be much to look forward to next summer.
“Certainly in this window we will be bringing players in,” Watson told BBC Sport.
“There are key positions we want to recruit and we’re working hard on that right now.
“There is money to invest. How much is depending on where we see the squad transitioning to.”
The wide speculation is that Joel Piroe will be sold this summer with clubs such as Leicester, Nottingham Forest and Everton already linked with a move for the player who has been such a success in his two seasons at Swansea.
“We want to keep the players in the building but, ultimately, if an offer comes that we feel is right and means we can re-invest and ultimately get better – then we’ll look at it,” Watson added.
“But we’re not under any pressure to sell or go out hunting for offers. We’re happy with the squad and we want to add to it.
“Every sporting director, every manager at every club, wants to spend more money, but we’ve got to do it in the correct way which is in line with how the club wants to move forward.
“There’s not a bottomless pit, we’ve got to be shrewd in the market and use our academy.
“But also, when we’ve got the opportunity to spend money and invest in a player who wants to progress, we’ve got to be able to do that as well.”
Nothing Watson said gave me any real cofidence and wasn’t very different from what was said last year. Happy with the players we’ve got but if a deal is right for us we’ll sell .That just about covers all options .