We have had to employ Jack Butty’s recent past to get this weeks parchment flowing. Like an episode of Blackadder we span the generations in search of the best in Butty scribbling, it’s no easy task and luckily our most recent Jack Butty hasn’t got a mirror. It’s Swansea City and Jack Butty in unison, at least for now.
It’s a big welcome to the new season, and the hearts of fans are full of hope. But maybe Swans’ fans have more reason to be hopeful than we have in recent years.It has been an excellent close season. After a slight delay, Michael Duff and his team were appointed in time for the pre-season work. Sporting Director Paul Watson has been very busy making his mark on the transfer market, and the Chairman, Andrew Coleman, has relocated to South Wales – a signal that the club owners will have an active presence at Swansea.
It’s always exciting to see incoming players – what position do they play, their record at their previous club, and, importantly, how much did they cost? The latter is now much more difficult to know due to the increasing use of the ‘undisclosed fee.’ We can estimate that we obtained circa £3m for Michael Obafemi, an estimated £1m for Morgan Whittaker, and a reported £2-3m for Oliver Ntcham. Ntcham was reported as the club’s highest earner on £25k a week, so a significant saving there as well. The exits of Ryan Manning and Joel Latibeaudiere, and others represent additional savings on the wage bill that can be used to offset incoming loans.
The contract release sum for Martin and his team is to be resolved by arbitration but should cover what it cost us to release Michael Duff from Barnsley, probably with a bit left over. Of the six incomings, there are two loans, one free (Josh Ginnelly) and three undisclosed (Josh Key – to be determined by arbitration - Jerry Yates and Mykola Kuharvich). Yates was part of a two-way deal involving Kyle Joseph. Yates had come to the end of a three-year contract at Blackpool, who were relegated to League One at the end of last season. Estimates were that Yates cost £2.5m.
What’s been done has strengthened areas that needed attention and indicates that Watson has a detailed knowledge of players across all the leagues, their contract situations, and their potential fit to what the Swans need.
Goalkeeping was a priority, with Stephen Benda still recovering. More speed was essential, as were some attacking options to replace what we lost with Obafemi. More than that, the squad is gaining considerably more depth and quality.
On the face of it, it looks like a summer of very good business. It is understood that more players are coming, likely to cover left wingback and left-side defence but possibly others. This could indicate that the club is anticipating further movement out of the squad with Matt Grimes and Nathan Wood on the rumour lists.
The use of loans is an area for discussion. On one side, loans can inhibit the development of academy players. On the other, it can bring in the quality of players we couldn’t afford to buy outright. I tend to go with the latter, but only where this is used effectively. Over the last couple of years, we’ve had too many loans that were a waste of time and money. On the playing side, it’s still too early to gauge very much. The football against Birmingham looked disjointed, but that won’t surprise many with a new coach and style and new teammates still ‘jellying.’
The performance against the Cobblers showed some excellent passages of play, including Joel Piroe in the right place for two goals and Ginnelly’s pearler into the top right-hand corner. But it was still acknowledged as a work in progress, with more of the squad being given a run-out. The next few weeks will tell us much more about our team and what it might be capable of.
The interesting speculation of the last 48 hours was whether Joel Piroe ( below ) might sign a new contract. Keith has made the point that one reason he hasn’t yet gone in the transfer window could be that Premier League clubs look for more complete skill sets from their strikers. A new contract could work well for everyone. Piroe is still developing as a player, and if he gets on with Duff and his team, he may feel that his development will continue at Swansea. The Swans and all our fans would be delighted if Joel were to sign on again, and everyone would be satisfied if future bids would ensure Joel could leave while the Swans would avoid selling him for a song.
So, it’s looking good at this stage. We all know dreams can turn sour, but there is much to savour and look forward to.