“Desperation” - Swansea City criticised as finances of Nottingham Forest deal revealed | OneFootball

Swansea City are paying big wages to Lewis O'Brien after he joined on loan from Nottingham Forest in the recent window.

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 criticised for not backing Luke Williams with permanent signings in the recent transfer window after it was reported they are paying £27,000 a week to loanee Lewis O’Brien.

It was a hectic window for the Welsh club, with the owners coming in for criticism due to a lack of activity initially.

Things did change in the final days, with Matt Grimes’ move to Coventry triggering business for the Swans, who replaced the midfielder by bringing in O’Brien for the remainder of the campaign from Nottingham Forest.

Swansea City splash out for Lewis O’Brien deal

Even though the former Huddersfield Town man is only on loan, it’s fair to say that the Swans have still made a hefty financial commitment to bring him in, as it was stated that they are paying O’Brien £27,000 a week during his time at the club.

Whilst that would normally be applauded, it left some Swansea fans wondering why they are willing to spend so much on the salary of a player who may only wear the shirt 16 times, when the funds could be put towards a player who can be brought in permanently.

When quizzed on that by FLW, fan pundit Will admitted he couldn’t understand the approach, even if he was glad to have a player with O’Brien’s quality in the team.

He saidL “It’s not really surprising. We had an incident a few years ago when our old owners attempted to make Karlan Grant our highest paid player even though they’d only been at the club for six months.

“Don’t get me wrong, I think O’Brien is a fantastic player, and he put in a great performance on Sunday, but it’s common for us to do that. We won’t throw money at transfer fees for permanent players. You look at the Joe Low one, it was suggested that we wouldn’t put in a bit more to sign him, but then we’re happy to pay large wages to O’Brien, who won’t be with us in the long run.

“I don’t see us signing him permanently. I have read from Forest fans that he is valued at up to £5m, and we don’t spend that sort of money. I know the Jacob Wright deal that didn’t happen was supposed to be up to £4m, which I thought was crazy, because we don’t spend that on players, unfortunately.

“The last time we spent that sort of money was on Jerry Yates, and that was around £3.5m plus Kyle Joseph, and that was a poor signing. So, with that, I’ll be honest, I’m not surprised we’re throwing money at a last-minute loan, even though I do rate the player a lot. I think it shows a lack of planning and desperation to get someone over the line.

“I think we are overspending for someone who won’t be here in the long run, and I would personally like to have seen the money put towards a permanent player, but I do really rate O’Brien.”

Swansea City lack direction off the pitch

In the short term, O’Brien will improve Swansea, which he demonstrated with an impressive debut in the crucial victory at Bristol City.

So, it’s important to recognise that, but the reality is that the Swans are going to be in a position in the summer where they are back to square one.

If this was a one-off, you could argue that criticism wouldn’t be fair, but, sadly, it’s a regular theme, with the club making some strange decisions in recent years.

The squad has lacked balance and still is, and it’s something they should have rectified going into the window.

Now, it’s something they must address in the summer, but it remains to be seen whether Williams will get the support he needs and whether they can strike the right balance between the short-term needs of the team, and the long-term strategy to progress the club.