Swansea City to beat Stoke to Chelsea transfer agreement | OneFootball

Highlights

Bashir Humphreys has agreed to join Swansea City on a loan deal, despite previous talks with Stoke City over a move, as per Evening Standard reporter Nizaar Kinsella.

The 20-year-old has seemingly snubbed the Potters after discussions were held between them and his parent club Chelsea, earlier today, according to TEAMtalk.

They reported that Stoke were hopeful of winning the race for the England under-20 international, and that he'd be signing a new deal with Chelsea before making any moves.

Stoke are set to further reinforce their defence with the signing of Lynden Gooch very likely, according to Chronicle Live.

Now, though, it looks like he could be the only defensive addition that the club make before tonight's 11pm deadline. Nizaar Kinsella of the Evening Standard is reporting that the Chelsea centre back has agreed to join Swansea City on loan.

Kinsella added that a temporary move away from Stamford Bridge had been planned for months, for Humphreys, but manager Mauricio Pochettino seriously considered keeping him in his squad for the year.

Despite this, it was decided that a loan move would be best for him. He will be joining Michael Duff's side.

Kinsella also reported that Norwich City also had interest in the youngster.

A big gain for Swansea as Humphreys is set to join

He's been with Chelsea since the age of 15, and the defender featured in every one of his side's pre-season games, in America. He made his first-team debut for the club against Manchester City in the FA Cup, last January.

The 20-year-old impressed in a loan spell with SC Paderborn 07, in the German Bundesliga 2. He was there for the latter half of the club's season. He started in all 12 games that he featured in, playing every minute of those games, and he showed great capability and maturity.

For a 19-year-old to go out on loan to the opposite end of the country is usually regarded, in football, as a bit of a gutsy move. But moving to another country shows the maturity that Humphreys has, and that's something that will benefit the Swans.

How much of a loss for Stoke is not getting Humphreys?

The club have been trying to add more depth to their defensive line before today. But to lose out on a promising target, when you were seemingly leading the race, must be tough for Alex Neil and his team to take.

SofaScore lists them as only having five recognised defenders. One of those is Liam McCarron who initially got his break in professional football as a winger.

The addition of Gooch, if that deal gets over the line, will obviously help them. But it's an area that the manager has targeted for additions, and trying to sort a replacement deal, with less than eight hours to go in the window, will be tough.

Despite their obvious desire for more defenders, Stoke's defensive record, so far, hasn't been that bad. They've only conceded four in as many games, in the Championship; Southampton, who are currently fourth, have conceded almost twice as many.