Football League World
·4 December 2024
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·4 December 2024
We asked our Swansea City fan pundit what his biggest fear in the January transfer window is
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 been urged to sign a winger when the January transfer window opens, with the current options deemed to be struggling.
The Swans saw Jisung Eom return from injury in their most recent fixture, a huge boost for Luke Williams, but they're still short of options with midfielder Azeem Abdulai often being used out wide, much to the frustration of the Jack Army.
Swansea have Josh Ginnelly out injured long-term, and it remains to be seen if and when he'll return, so Ronald and Brenford loanee Myles Peart-Harris have been regular starters out wide for the Swans this season.
The pair are capable Championship players but haven't set the world alight this season, and Swansea have been told to add to their ranks out wide in January.
We asked our Swansea City fan pundit, James Fleming, what his biggest fear is in the January window, and he made it clear that not signing at least one winger would be a disaster for the Swans.
He said: "I think my biggest fear as far as our club goes in January is not signing wingers.
“Just in general, not getting any reinforcements into the club would be a pretty big disaster, we need players to be able to push up the table. We want to be in the play-offs, or at least top half, and to do that we need reinforcements and wingers to come in because that’s been our weak point all season.
“We need to look at other positions around the pitch which are important, but no wingers would be a big fear because Ronald’s been struggling this season. Some of his stats look okay on paper, but when you look at some of the underlying stats, I think he has the most unsuccessful touches in the league, and Peart-Harris hasn’t really been up to scratch as a starter. He’s a good depth player, but you need more in that position.
“So, definitely for me, my biggest fear would be us not having any wingers come into the team in the January transfer window.”
As James alluded to, Ronald hasn't been at his best this season and if Swansea had depth out wide it would allow him to be rotated and potentially give him a break which he looks like he needs.
The Brazilian possesses plenty of raw talent, and he's shown during his brief time in English football that he could be an excellent player at this level, but it's not quite clicked for him in SA1 this season.
It's normal for young players to have spells where they aren't at their best, and there should be no long-term concern as the 23-year-old has shown what he can do at his best.
However, with no depth out wide, the Brazilian knows he's unlikely to lose his position in the starting XI as there's no one to replace him, so it could mean he's become complacent.
If Swansea signed a winger or two in January, Ronald would know he has to be at his best to keep his place in the team, and that added depth would drive competition and standards, which would only benefit boss Williams in the long-term.