Swansea City: What next for Jamie Paterson?

The future of Jamie Paterson at the moment remains unconfirmed with talks between the Swans and the player not yet reaching a conclusion that sees him extend his stay in SA1.

It was confirmed at the time of the retained list being announced that the Swans were still in talks over an extended deal for Paterson who joined the Swans under Russell Martin back in 2021.

The player himself stated back in March that he wanted to stay at the club after the expiry of his contract that has seen him net seventeen goals for the Swans in just over one hundred appearances.

“It’s quite obvious I would want to stay,” Paterson told BBC Sport Wales at the time.

“There is no reason for me to want to move away.

“I love being at this club, I have the whole time, with the new manager coming in as well, it gives you even more confidence. There would no reason for me to go elsewhere but at the same time, it’s not up to me.”

The question at the moment therefore remains live for many as to whether the club and player can reach agreement with the fact that it is still unconfirmed telling you that discussions at the time of the released list had the two parties potentially some way apart at that time.

Paterson’s time at Swansea has been somewhat inconsistent with an early run of form dented by some major confusion over a contract extension at the start of 2022.  Rumours of a rift between player and club did not help and Russell Martin twice had to excuse Pato as not being in the right frame of mind to play for the team.  An inconsistent second season under Martin was followed by his best season to date last time around and it is more than understandable that the club would want to extend his contract right now.

The question that many have though is just how far apart are those two parties at this moment.   And that question goes unanswered just at that point although you would have to assume that there is some clarity due in the very near future.   From the Swans perspective it is understandable that we do not want to break the bank to keep a player who is into his thirties but at the same time we should also consider the performances of the player last season and whether we can replace them within the budget that we have in mind.

Having said that we cannot be held to ransom by the player so from his point of view whilst I understand the need to keep the options open (and there will be little doubt that his representatives will be looking at viable alternatives to the Swans) there can quickly come a time where you have to make a move towards the deal on the table in front of you.

With most discussions such as these there is always a compromise to be found should both parties want it to happen and that has to be the hope for Swans fans at this stage.  Whilst the performances of Paterson may not always have been top notch he was one of the few bright spots of last season and that in itself is probably good enough for us to need to keep him here.   It is certainly of a case that replacing him may well probe to be more of a challenge than reaching an agreement on a new deal.   Particularly when you consider the rest of the transfer dealings that we need to complete in the summer.

The one thing though that Luke Williams needs here is a relatively quick resolution one way or the other.  The ideal of course being the confirmation of a new deal for Pato but if we have to go down the alternative route then the longer we are aware of it the better.