Morgan Whittaker and Liam Cullen – Men In Demand?

It is difficult to guess at the moment what the Swans squad may look like when the season opens at the beginning of August with a new manager and recruitment team likely and interest in several of our players likely to play through during the summer.

With Manning, Latibeaudiere and Naughton all seemingly on their way out of the club we then have the speculation around the likes of Nathan Wood, Matt Grimes and Joel Piroe amongst others that we will have to deal with during the course of the summer.

And then it seems that we will also have to look at Morgan Whittaker and Liam Cullen as well both who are the subject of reported interest from elsewhere.

Let’s start with Whittaker.   He had a brilliant half a season at Plymouth last season before being recalled by the club in January with a clear agenda for us to cash in on that half a season as best as we could.   We know there was interest but Whittaker never left and we gave him relatively little game time for the remainder of the season.

It feels almost inconceivable that Whittaker will still be here come the end of the summer.   Plymouth we know are fans and it feels that they will almost certainly come in but speculation does not also reduce in Scotland that he could also be the subject of a bid from Rangers.   They were the ones showing the most interest in the January window with three bids being turned down so it does feel – and is already reported – that they will come back in with a fourth bid during this window.

There will be a point in this surely where the Swans will cash in on the player although with a new manager coming in then who is to say that Whittaker could not find himself nearer the plans of the new manager then he is under the current one.   Interest will be there, bids are almost certain and the sense says at the moment Whittaker will go.

Then we have Cullen.   At the end of April it was reported that Celtic, Middlesbrough and Sunderland were all tracking him.  Cullen scored eight Championship goals last season and that is bound to have made sides sit up and take note especially considering the 24 year old had only scored three league goals in his career prior to that.

His value may not be as much as Whittaker’s but at this stage in his career Liam will surely want regular first team football and whilst he has 70 first team appearances under his belt more than half of these have come from the bench and that doesn’t blend itself generally to strikers being regulars on the goal scoring sheet.

Cullen for me has always been a difficult one to gauge.   I really want him to succeed but there is always that nagging doubt at the back of my head that asks if he is a Championship player or not.   I can’t see Celtic’s tracking turning into anything but he proved last season what he can do and I would like nothing more than to see him prove my doubts wrong.   And if he does then I would rather that was at Swansea City.

The future of both players as well could be influenced by whatever happens with Joel Piroe.   As reported yesterday, Piroe is likely to be the subject of transfer interest this summer and should he depart the club then a new striker will need to be sought.

Could it yet be that Whittaker and Cullen could find themselves at the head of the pecking order for next season?  Could either fill the boots that Piroe has led with so well over the past two seasons?   It’s very possible and should not be ruled out without thinking about anyway.

What will be certain though is whatever happens by the time the window shuts at the end of August the future for both players will look very different next season than it did at the end of the last.    That future though remains unwritten at the moment.