Hannes Delcroix and Lewis O’Brien have come into the Swansea City squad as a result of the January transfer window. Both after a brief insight into their ability the majority would say they are an upgrade to what we have lost - and on certain first team players.

We did our usual pick up the phone approach to get extra information on one player, and via a source (agent) who has helped us before we went about our business. It shouldn’t surprise people that in the case of a player like Lewis O’Brien, now twenty six, he is in his prime and the general feeling is the Swans are already priced out for the player. Here are his stats to date.

He has had an up and down career so we posed the question, ‘What would Forest accept for him’ ? On the face of it the Swans are out of their financial depth. If they want to sign Lewis permanently. Forest like almost every other club will negotiate payments and the initial money laid down. And of course Lewis is not going to be a member of the Forest squad next season despite still being in contract until 2026. For his parent club being at Swansea puts him in the window of other clubs. Bigger clubs most certainly, and more financially adept with a professional team in place to negotiate and deliver players to their employers. Something the Swans simply do not have bar the soon to be appointed Richard Montague. And at the levels Coleman wants him to operate in he is very much untested at Championship level. So, if Lewis’s time at Swansea is a success there will be other clubs looking to sign him. On the information we gathered Lewis would be available for around three million pounds but that’s not the problem. We have also found out that his contract at Forest is around thirty eight thousand pounds a week. AND the Swans are paying a big part of that.

Any expectation of Lewis signing for the Swans is obviously premature. However, the figures regards his salary cannot be met by Swansea City in any event. His expectations in his prime will be to get as close as possible to that. Yes, if he drops into the Championship permanently there are plenty of clubs prepared to put him in the mid twenty thousand pounds a week bracket, and the Swans won’t match that.

The other loan signing is twenty five year old Haiti born Hannes Delcroix (twenty six in a couple of weeks) A defensive player who seems to read the game extremely well. He has had three games now for the Swans and before signing on loan he made one appearance on the Burnley bench this season against Watford. He had little game time and his move to the Swans was a no brainer. His salary is £16,250 (source) per week which as we believe the majority is again paid by the Swans. We now know for sure that Burnley will be looking for a sale this summer. Another contract is not in the offing, and his current one is up next summer.

There has been speculation that Hannes will stay at the Swans for next season as well, not many would fall out with that, but of course that will depend on his performances. For us he’s looking okay bar the odd error which is to be expected. People will point to his slip when Norwich piled on the pressure at Carrow Road recently. However, have a look at his positioning for that goal. He was the only defender who saw the danger and sprinted diagonally back to get in a position where he could take on the attacking player. No Swans defender is even close and that goal was most certainly not his fault. It was clearly the lack of any defensive player not being bothered as much as Hannes was.

Hannes joined Burnley for an estimated fee of around two and a half million pounds from Anderlecht in 2023 on a three year contract. He was well known by then Burnley manager Vincent Kompany. Hannes had played at every level for his national side (Belgium) and was well known to Kompany. Hannes next move will be for less you would think. A clever bit of business in the summer would be another loan with a possible price agreed for next summer. It’s a long way off but isn’t that what Chairman, Andrew Coleman claims to be doing ? Planning ahead …

Of the two Hannes looks far more the easier and cheaper to sign, he is a specialist across the defensive line and left footed which is a much sought after asset. Both players to us here at the Indy look solid short term investments, but if the club are clever with their finances they could be much more than that.

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⚽️ Wednesday night football under the lights this evening as Swansea City take on Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship at the Swansea.com (7:45pm)

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