Swansea City set to complete deal to sign 22-year-old French winger | OneFootball

The Swans have been linked with a move for Académico de Viseu winger Gautier Ott

Swansea City are closing in on their first signing of the summer transfer window, with reports in Portugal stating that the club are on the verge of completing a deal for 22-year French winger Gautier Ott from Portuguese second division side Académico de Viseu.

Portuguese outlet Record has reported that a deal for the winger is 'very close', while Sebastião Sousa Pinto has reported on X that a fee of €1.5million has been agreed, and that Ott will sign a three-year deal in south Wales, with the option for a further year.

Having featured in the Portuguese second tier for the last two seasons, Ott won't be a household name amongst Swansea fans, but the 22-year-old looks set to add some much-needed pace to Swansea's attack.

Swansea City will be hoping that they've found a hidden gem in Gautier Ott

The Frenchman joined Académico de Viseu in the summer of 2022, and has impressed in Portugal, playing 78 games for the club, finding the back of the net six times and recording 18 assists.

The winger played 36 games in all competitions for his club during the 23/24 campaign, and he scored twice, registering seven assists.

He was a regular starter for the club from Northern Portugal, and started 30 of their 34 league games, helping them to a mid-table 11th place finish.

The Frenchman's time in Portugal was the first time he'd played regular first-team football, after starting his career at French side Nancy, before earning a move to German side Hoffenheim in the summer of 2020.

Ott made his professional debut in February 2020, coming off the bench for Nancy in a Ligue 2 game against Clermont, but that was the only first-team game he'd play for the French side before moving to Germany.

The former France U18 international never played a first-team game for Hoffenheim, but he featured regularly for their second team, Hoffenheim II, who played in the Regionalliga Sudwest, the fourth tier of German football.

During his time in Germany, he played 36 games for Hoffenheim II, scoring four goals and registering five assists, doing enough to earn a move to the Portuguese second tier two years ago.

With experience in France, Germany and Portugal, Ott is well-travelled despite his age, and it looks as if a move to Wales will be the next step on his footballing journey.

Swansea City have had recent success in the Portuguese market

Luke Williams and Swansea have had some recent success in the Portuguese market with the January signing of Ronald, and it looks as if the club will try to repeat the trick this summer.

Ronald was an unknown quantity prior to his arrival, just like Ott is, but he's proven to be an excellent signing and has given the Swans an extra dimension in attack.

Swansea have made no secret about the fact that they're planning to look abroad for new signings in the coming months, with Williams telling the BBC that the club were "looking at the European and even the global market".

Coming from the second division of Portuguese football, it remains to be seen how long it will take Ott to get up to speed with Championship football, but Swansea clearly think he's someone who can make an impact as he's set to sign a long-term deal.

It's well-documented that some of the club's transfer business last summer simply wasn't good enough, and everyone at the club will be hoping for better luck this year, starting with Ott.