"Was so vital to our system" - £12m Swansea City transfer deal dubbed as big regret | OneFootball

FLW's Swansea City fan pundit has claimed the club should still regret the sale of one former key player

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Swansea City have struggled to earn their place back in the Premier League ever since their relegation to the Championship in 2018.

The Swans have reached the play-offs twice in their six full seasons back in the Championship, including losing the final to Brentford in 2021.

Luke Williams will be hoping he can guide the club back to the top flight, after a couple of tricky years following that Wembley Stadium loss to the Bees.

The South Wales outfit have come 15th, 10th and 14th in the three years since, losing several key players in the process including Joel Piroe, Flynn Downes and Nathan Wood.

Swansea City regret claim issued over Flynn Downes sale

When asked what regret the club still has to this day, FLW’s Swansea fan pundit James Fleming suggested the sale of Flynn Downes to West Ham in 2022.

The Swans sold the central midfielder to the Hammers for a fee reported to be £12 million,

He believes the Welsh outfit have struggled to replace the midfielder, but is hopeful that Goncalo Franco’s arrival from Moreirense is the solution they need to move on from Downes’ departure.

“I think there’s many things that we will regret from any point during the last couple of years,” Fleming told Football League World.

“But I think if you’re going for a recent time where we probably made a slight mistake is probably selling a player of Flynn Downes’ calibre.

“It was a lot of money at the time, but he was so vital to our system at the time.

“It looks like it could be okay now because of signing Goncalo Franco.

“But, I think with how important he was to our midfield at the time, we really did fall apart in that aspect, and until Franco we haven’t really found an adequate replacement for him.

“It’s one of them players who can get in and do the dirty work, and is the perfect partner for Matt Grimes, who then allows Grimes to move further forward, so I think 100 per cent I would say selling Flynn Downes in recent times.”

Swansea City: Flynn Downes sale to West Ham didn’t work out for any party

While Swansea did receive a significant sum for the sale of Downes, they haven't really seen the benefit of that in the long run on the pitch.

As for Downes himself, he struggled at West Ham and was unable to make much of an impact in the Premier League, so he maybe could’ve done with staying in the Championship for another year.

These are the inherent risks of moving up a division, but perhaps he would opt to stay at Swansea now if he could make that decision again.

Although the 25-year-old is now earning regular game time with Southampton where he has reunited with Martin, it could also be a case that one manager being able to bring the best out of him is a thing.