Swansea fans baffled after shock news and free agent revelation raises questions (original) (raw)

The transfer window might be closed, but Swansea City's transfer dealings are back in the spotlight.

A busy summer recruitment drive clearly brought some positives, but resulted in a squad that is clearly short of options in key areas.

Much has been made of the lack of depth up front, with only two recognised strikers currently on the books, while boss Luke Williams made no secret of the fact he felt he needed another option out wide. In the end, he didn't get it.

The use of Ollie Cooper and Myles Peart-Harris up front, and the persistence with Azeem Abdulai as a winger has perhaps demonstrated his point, although it's worth pointing out that Swansea have actually started the season pretty well.

But there are clearly some frustrations over how the window panned out. Indeed, the fact the club are turning their attention to the free agent market is arguably a tacit admission of the shortcomings from the summer.

News that Adam Reach, a winger with 375 Championship appearances to his name, and Cyrus Christie, who of course needs little introduction to Swans fans, are both training with the club, has sent that talk into overdrive in the last 24 hours.

It's worth stressing there's no clarity on whether either player is considered a serious option at this stage. But they will certainly be given the chance to impress Williams over the international break.

A move for Christie, however, would feel particularly odd - and some might also claim it would say a lot about Swansea's recent transfer strategy.

A solid success under Russell Martin during a six-month spell midway through the 2022-23 season, Christie parted ways with the Swans at end of the same campaign, with the ownership apparently unconvinced by his credentials.

He would later go on to join Hull City, but has previously maintained he always wanted to stay at Swansea.

“I was loving it there, I enjoyed it. It made me change the way I was thinking at that time and how I’d been for the last few years," he told The Beautiful Game podcast just over a year ago.

“Swansea said to me that they wanted to sign me after a few games, I was up for it and said 'yeah, let’s talk'. Then it went quiet, and nothing was happening.

“In my head, to be honest, I was always thinking I was going to come back. My missus loved it, the baby loved it, they’re on the beach and it’s nice. In my head, I was always thinking Swansea and I thought nothing of it.

“I then got to the end of the season and before the last game of the season the manager said to me 'the owners don’t want to sign you'."

However, he claimed that his age scuppered hopes of a deal getting done.

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“One of the owners said 'you’re too old'. The other owner wanted to sign me, but he said there is no value. At the time I’m 29, but I haven’t hit the 30-mark at this point and I was a bit baffled, I said 'fair enough'.

“In my head I was questioning if I should I play the last game of the season. I was thinking 'why should I risk myself for you?'

“But then I didn’t want to disrespect the manager or the fans because they had taken to me and the manager was unbelievable with me, so I played the last game.

“After that I thought let’s talk over the summer still, but the owner still said no, there’s no value in you (speaking to Christie’s agent).

“I spoke with the manager, and he just said I can’t offer you a contract.”

Christie's claims, a year on, haven't been forgotten by Swans fans, many of whom feel this possible possible reunion is a perfect example of the club's alleged muddled thinking when it comes to recruitment.

Whether that's a fair assessment or not is up for debate. Indeed, it's possible Christie has merely linked up with the squad to keep his fitness up, in which case this whole conversation is largely redundant.

But if a move does materialise, and we're to take Christie's comments at face value, it's perfectly reasonable to wonder what's changed.

Admittedly, while he still perhaps has something to offer this team, the Irish international's best years are probably behind him, so perhaps the financial package would be more attractive for the club.

But even so, the optics of the club potentially going back in for a player they turned down the chance to sign only two years ago, will still feel a little problematic, particularly in the context of a window that once again delivered several shortcomings. The departure of Paul Watson does little to strengthen any arguments that Swansea have a crystallised approach to recruitment, either.

Not for the first time, it feels like there are some big questions yet to be answered.