Phil SumblerThe Swans are still expected to complete a loan move for Carl Rushworth from Brighton with the keeper expected to take his place ahead of the Birmingham fixture on August 5th.
That arrival is also expected to see him installed as the number one choice at the Swansea.com Stadium with Andy Fisher moving to the bench to be back up to Rushworth.
Steven Benda of course remains absent through injury but there is the question of what happens when he regains that fitness. It has now been said that he will be absent until the start of the New Year which means he will return with less than six months remaining on his contract.
That in itself starts to beg the question as to whether Benda would get a new deal in SA1 and if the answer to that question is no then do the Swans make a decision on him this summer and even look to move him on this summer despite that injury.
Of course the fact that he is injured makes that much more difficult but we know from his previous loan moves away from the club that Benda could have some suitors should we decide it is time to part company.
The Swans have been stung twice this year with losing players for a free when out of contract and they will want to make sure that mistake is not repeated with the keeper. Steven Benda is twenty-five in October but has just 60 league starts behind him. He will surely be looking for reassurances with any new contract that he considers and it is starting to feel more unlikely that he could get any of those reassurances with Swansea.
Although the arrival of Rushworth will be partly because of the injury to Benda it is not anywhere near likely that he will displace Rushworth on his return from injury. It is then down to Michael Duff as to whether it would be Benda or Fisher that sits as back up to him. Fisher has time left on his contract where Benda, in football terms, is at the end of his and that will play a part in any decisions the Swans take in the next few weeks.
The question at the moment is who would move for Benda given the fact he is facing maybe six months more on the sidelines? But, given the fact that he can move for nothing in twelve months the Swans may decide to deal ‘cheap’ now and at least get the his wage off the bill now rather than keep it there for another twelve months. If he isn’t seen as part of our long term plans then that would make sense?
The one hesitation in my mind though is that Rushworth is highly valued at Brighton. That pretty much seems to rule out a permanent move for the keeper (unless of course we got promoted!) which means that at the end of the loan we are likely to seek another keeper.
It’s all very speculative at the moment but I genuinely would not be surprised to see Benda move on in this window however unlikely it looked at the start of it. What was that phrase again? Oh yeah, time will tell!
Benda in my opinion is a much better keeper than fisher.he command’s his area better than him.
I think Benda should get an extended contract for one year as Rushworth is likely to leave at end of season so we need at least two senior keepers at the club.
Agree with Adrian .Also cannot see anybody buying an injured keeper innthe last yesr of his contract .
The Americans could always move him on just to avoid paying him
Benda had a very serious injury Which makes a return to match fitness and previous standards a long way off.
I would expect Steve to be ready to go on loan, to retain form, in the new year and not return before next season.
Andy Fisher will be gone before Steve. He’s the better goalkeeper and the fans have a soft spot for him! Brighton have made it clear of their intentions to keep their man, so I would believe he will return to his mother club once this agreement is over!? Saying that, this is football and stranger things have happened!