So again today the Sunday papers are full of stories about Ashley Williams and Brendan Rodgers linking up at Liverpool next season as Liverpool look to replace Skertel in the heart of their defence.

This of course could just be the normal lazy journalism method of former manager needs a central defender and former team has a top quality one so there is the link but there does appear to be more mileage in this one rather than any of the other tenuous rumours that we tend to hear more of since we joined the top flight again almost two years ago.

We know that Ash is a top quality player and has rarely put a foot wrong since a dodgy first couple of weeks of the season and of coruse he has led us on the pitch for pretty much most of the season as well as being handed the captain's armband for Wales by Chris Coleman earlier in the season.

Ash has played over 200 times in the league for us in the 5 seasons since he signed back in 2008 and that in itself would give you another reason why teams would line up to watch him and potentially queue to sign him with very few gaps in his appearance bonus since making the switch.

However, at the moment with the Swans still on the rise you would have to question whether Ash would want to leave. In that 5 years at the club he has seen people leave the club for pastures new but rarely has he seen a former team mate excel to the level that they have at Swansea. You could argue that Ash is a different kettle of fish given his almost flawless performances for club and country but it will always be a factor at the back of his mind surely?

Then of course there is the fact that next season Ash is now also facing a first European football campaign thanks to the Swans victory in last week's Capital One Cup Final and that is something that only 6 or 7 sides in this division will be able to boast for next season.

Money could be a factor in any decision and the Swans would not be able to compete necessarily with the wages that a club in the top four would be able to offer the player but then again for an example of where money isn't everything you look at Scott Sinclair and his potential summer exit from Man City could see him back in the Championship on lower wages than he was earning when he left South Wales. The grass isn't always greener even if the money is in (temporary?) larger supply.

I do though believe that Ash is good enough to warrant the interest he is reportedly getting not just from Liverpool but also Arsenal and Manchester United. I also think he would play for them more frequently than messrs De Vries, Pratley and Sinclair did when they left for pastures new but I also do wonder whether Ash looks at those players and wonders whether staying at Swansea may be the better long term option for his career.

We will of course not know what the players ambitions are as he has always stated his complete professionalism about the job that he has to do at Swansea but we can only hope that his head does not get turned and next season he will lead us back into the Premier League and Europa League knowing that at the moment his personal stock could not be higher.

He's captain of Wales...

Photo: Action Images

Davillin added 16:02 - Mar 4 Some say that we should learn from our mistakes. I believe that smart people learn from the mistakes of others. I guess we'll learn whether Ash is a smart person and will learn from the mistakes of former players who failed to understand that their success came from playing on a team whose playing philosophy made them what they are. Oops! "what they were."
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