It needs to be said that we should not get too carried away with last night’s comprehensive win at Reading in the EFL Cup but all the signs are there of things already turning around at the Liberty with more new players expected to arrive this week and ahead of the transfer window.
It is hard to believe that it is only ten days since the appointment of Russell Martin was confirmed at Swansea.ย It ended a few days of discussions but it was clear from the moment he first spoke to the fans via the official site that he had a plan and a vision and he has wasted no time in putting that vision into play.
Two games have yielded 71% (Blackburn) and 73% (Reading) possession for the Swans with over 1100 passes attempted in those two games at an 86% success pass rate.ย This is what we have achieved in just ten days.
Jamie Paterson and Flynn Downes have already arrived to join in the revolution at Swansea and there are strong rumours surfacing that we may even be able to hang onto Matt Grimes this season which – given the speculation of the summer – will be like adding a new arrival to the team.
But Martin is not yet finished and there are more players to come.ย Ethan Laird is still expected to arrive, quite probably ahead of the weekend and the interest in James Garner remains strong and that could be another move that we complete in the coming days.
The decision on Grimes is a key to what happens next – we keep him and that probably completes our midfield, lose him and Martin will go into the market for a replacement.ย ย He has some targets lined up ready should he need to but he wants to keep his captain and behind the scenes people are getting more confident that he can achieve that.
The conspicuous absence of anyone occupying the Number 9 shirt when the squad numbers were announced was clearly one to drive speculation.ย Joel Piroe’s performance last night will certainly have convinced Martin that he has more to offer and could play a big role for us this season but the Swans head coach is working on someone to fill that shirt and movement is expected very soon.
Lawrence Shankland is now out of the running as he is on his way to Belgium and there has been more than one link for Jordan Hugill which could be a loan move if the transfer price is out of our range at this point in time.ย As you would expect, Martin has a few options that he is considering but talks have begun as he looks to continue the excellent work of his first ten days here in Swansea.
The Swans have two tough home tests ahead of them in the next week – Sheffield United and Stoke which will give u a better gauge of where we have progressed to in this short time.ย However, the signs are good, the reinforcements appear good and strong and knowing there are more to arrive this week and month just helps build the excitement of what could be something very good ahead.
Congratulations on over 20 years of Swans reporting… I watch and read the daily reports and can feel the excitement over here in Nova Scotia CANADA