Phil Sumbler
Transfer speculation is part of every summer close season and that means that there are always stories and reports floating around that raise an eyebrow as things that you never anticipated happening.
One of those reports surfaced yesterday with the news that Swans youngster Aimar Govea is on the radar of Juventus who are allegedly weighing up a move for the player during the summer window.
Govea was anticipated as being a much bigger part of the Swans squad in the coming season especially on the back of large praise from Luke Williams at the end of last season when the Swans head coach told BBC Sport “I like him because he clearly has quality, no doubt.
“He strikes the ball well, manipulates the ball well. He has a change of direction, shifts his body weight and he is quick enough, so all those things I like.
“And then he is concentrating in training, listening, has a good attitude and those things are equally important.
“Aimar has a chance to be really good if he continues like that. He earned his place to get in the squad and to be on the pitch.”
It is clear that Williams’ view of the player is matched elsewhere with the speculation that Juventus are contemplating a move and the reports also suggest that there is interest elsewhere in both Spain and England.
And this is where the dilemma comes in for the Swans – should they cash in on one of their brightest talents or hold onto him in the hope that he has the predicted impact and therefore adds value to both the club and himself during that period. There is probably little doubt for example that Govea would get more regular first team football at Swansea then in Turin but there is probably also little doubt that his development would be well mapped out should he move to Italy.
From the Swans perspective whilst the potential £1m+ fee that has been reported would be well received to balance the cash challenges at the club it does feel that, even from his early performances, we have a good player in Govea and we should maximise that for us on the pitch while we can because it seems almost guaranteed that his value will rise over time given the praise and interest he attracts from elsewhere.
It is certainly a dilemma that was not necessarily expected this summer but is another big tick of praise for the academy which keeps on bringing through players that can benefit the first team and tells you that we should focus more on some of our own younger players than using loan deals to develop other team’s youngsters, even more when the loan deals do not work. Something we have seen way too much of over the past few years.
This is certainly something to watch with interest as the summer unfolds but for me, assuming the player is happy to do so, I would like to see him stay and play his part in the upcoming season.
