Swans keeper and striker search intensifies over the next five days Saturday, 13th Jul 2024 08:00 by Liam Walters & Keith Haynes With completed business on Gonçalo Franco announced, but let’s be honest it was completed way before yesterday news. Then Eom Ji-Sung signed from Gwangju FC in South Korea pending - the Swans are must certainly pushing on for two more players to come in over the coming days. Eom is in Wales and has been for around three days, give or take, and his signing is pending an official announcement, but it’s done and dusted. Much has been said on this signing with ‘me,me’ on Twitter embarrassing themselves to suit the hour. That’s as ever, but the internet is a great time stamp, and a telling one as well. With these two in the Swans squad for Austria next week and talks stalling on Adama Sidibeh, the St Johnstone forward the Swans are looking for more recruits. Everyone knows a keeper is much sought after. It doesn’t correlate that Swansea City recruit and employ what seems to be quality outfield players, and then stick with what continues to be our Achilles heal. A keeper that will cancel out any good work done with poor quality keeping and distribution. Pretty pointless. Luke Williams is pushing for some more recruits before the Austrian training camp, and what we do know there are two possibilities this morning. One is Lee Nicholls at Huddersfield, but we have to ask, ‘Why’ ? He has up to three more years of his Huddersfield contract to run, is overvalued, and pretty average overall. The Terriers relegation to League One may reduce his cost, and it has to be said in a few months time he is thirty two. Nicholls was at MK Dons when Williams worked there with Russell Martin. Nicholls lost his number one spot to one, Andrew Fisher. However, when you look at the market there’s not a lot to get excited about. And the Swans have been searching for some time for a Carl Rushworth replacement. He is still undecided on his future with Premier League interest, but no business done. The Swans have been inquiring, but it’s clear that Rushworth is hanging on to see what else he can get. Same as free agent, Jamie Paterson, another looking for better than he currently has. If it came down to a choice between Nicholls and Rushworth for next season then it’s fairly obvious where the jersey will land. That’s where the Swans are, however, they are paying attention to the situation of twenty seven year old, Marek Rodák, now a free agent and just back from the Euros, with Slovakia. The problem ? His salary which was reportedly around fifteen thousand pounds a week at Fulham before being released. We have to judge it on Macauley Langstaff, his salary request was never going to get the nod from the Swans hierarchy, especially for one so untested. Marek Rodák is a superb keeper, and Fulham fans were slightly surprised he didn’t get a new contract. He is at a level far and above any other available stopper on the market at the moment. Numerous Championship and League one sides are tailing him. The most valid is Derby County. However it’s looking certain that Swansea City are looking at far lower salaries and far lower overall pricing. But a keeper at Rodák’s level can certainly pay off, and can most certainly be the difference between Championship and Premier League football come 2025. Is that a price the Swans should try and save on ? Turning again to Sidibeh, it’s now a case of his club deciding his future. From a Scottish agent we have had talks with before, he tells us the player is extremely keen to join Swansea City. He also realises it may well be a chance that will never surface again. Having said that he may well have been a professional footballer for only seven months but in that time he has drawn attention from clubs in England and the Swans. Plus he has earned two caps for the Gambian national side. He actually scored on his debut. We have been told his pace is astonishing, he is raw but is also an open book, in a decent coaching set up like Swansea he could easily flourish. St Johnstone are obviously hanging on for more offers, but the season is close to starting, their value is £500k - far too much of a gamble. The Swans value is around £175k tops (confirmed) His inclusion or otherwise in St Johnstone’s away game at Brechin in the League Cup today will tell us a bit more. If he signed for the Swans he wouldn’t be seen as first choice up top.   Click —> ⚽️ Pre transfer report on Franco Click —> ⚽️ Eom Ji-Sung 1 Click —> ⚽️ Eom Ji-Sung 2 On the striker front a name has been thrown at us. That name is Mohamed Konaté. At twenty seven next birthday he is a free agent, and has scored twenty two league goals in fifty three games over the past two seasons for Akhmat Grozny in Premier Liga (Russia) We don’t see him as an option, despite interest. Leicester City have been working on a deal, but that’s gone quiet. Clubs in France are also interested. Tyrese Campbell (below) another free agent is still of interest to the Swans, despite no reports of talks or contact. At twenty four he has plenty of stamina and a hit and miss goal scoring record at Stoke City. He was there for eight years, and up until ten days ago was training alone and with Portsmouth striker Callum Lang. There have been links to Tyrese, and July for a free agent is a crucial time, we have every faith in speculation he could still be on Swansea City’s radar. He does actually fit into the Swans pay scale. His Stoke contract was revealed eighteen months ago. Twenty eight thousand pounds a month. If the Swans do continue their basic interest they may have stiff competition from Glasgow Rangers.  We also know players coming in on loan is a definite this summer, and most certainly the likes of Kristian Pedersen and Nathan Tjoe-A-On will be keen to leave for pastures new as it now seems they don’t feature in head coach, Luke Williams plans. Nathan’s link to Oxford United on loan has gone quiet, as has Swansea born striker, Mark Harris who the U’s state is going to cost any club ‘real money’ On that we can only hope the Swans don’t bite. The travelling squad for Austria will reveal more. We believe there’s a lot of business to be done before and after the season starts. Incomings and outgoings will go down to the wire. Of course we hear news on Celtic striker, Oh Hyeon-gyu. Linked by some, disregarded by others. Celtic paid around £2.5M for his services from Suwon Samsung Bluewings, no tv related humour please, and that for a striker who had a pretty average goalscoring record. Ange Postecoglou, was the manager then, but since Brendan Rodgers arrived back in Glasgow, Oh hasn’t seen a lot of consistent action. He has picked up somewhat in performances, but his playing chances for the Bhoys have been limited. All we know is mentions of a loan for the season have been ruled out with Celtic wanting to sell. In eighteen months over all games he has scored ten goals from forty six appearances. Inconsistent selection hasn’t helped him, and now with Celtic openly willing to sell it would be a decent bit of business by Swansea City. If Celtic are wanting to recoup their money that will surely rule the Swans out despite Oh fitting just about into their pay structure. It’s the same as we said for a new keeper, getting the striker business sorted out and the goalkeeping recruitment right could turn an average season in to a very successful one. More to come in this very crucial summer search.   Photographs licensed from Reuters & ©️St Johnstone FC Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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