Sheffield United and Bristol City named in Swansea City, Harry Darling exit claim | OneFootball

There could be a painful departure coming up for the Swans in the summer

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…

Summer is an important time for clubs like Swansea City, not only for looking at new signings but also for retaining their current players on expiring contracts.

The Swans find themselves in that exact position with defender Harry Darling.

The 25-year-old joined the Welsh side in 2022 from MK Dons, signing a three-year deal that is due to expire in a few months.

We asked our Swansea Fan Pundit, Wil Hughesl, whether he’s hopeful that Darling might renew his contract at the Swansea.com Stadium.

Darling could be off, but there’s a feeling Swansea can do better

Speaking to Football League World, Will said: “My honest gut feeling is that he won't sign a new deal. I think it all depends who comes in for him.

“There’s been talk about Sheffield United, obviously if they were to get promoted, and even if they weren't to get promoted, I think they can offer him a lot more money. There's a bigger chance that they will, if they're not in the Premier League next year, they'll be pushing for promotion again.

“And then I think the other one that has been mentioned is Bristol City and obviously there's the Liam Manning link there. Whether or not they'd be able to offer more money than us, I'm not sure.

“But I think we've got to look at ourselves as well, or rather the board have got to look at themselves, to have even let Darling get to this point in his contract.

“It's happened so many times in the past with previous owners. I remember the likes of Ryan Manning, having his contract go right down to the wire. I think Joel Latibeaudiere the same season, they’re the two most recent players that we let run down to the last couple of months and when you get to that point, it's almost like a point of no return because, okay, we might not be able to offer them as much money as other clubs, so it's a no-brainer that they're probably going to go elsewhere.

“And it looks like it's probably going to be the same situation for Darling. If we had one year left on his contract after this season, you could maybe look at it as, okay, we can offer him a new deal, we're in a position of power, if he wants to go, someone's going to have to buy him. But, unfortunately, that's not the case.

“So, I do think he’ll end up going elsewhere. Whether it’s one of those two clubs or one the Premier League teams that come down, maybe could go in for him. I don't know, but yeah, I definitely don't think he'll be at Swansea next season, that's for sure.

“I mean, I have slated Harry Darling quite a bit this season. I don't think he's been as good as some people say he has been. I definitely think Ben Cabango’s the better defender for sure.

“But I look at Harry Darling, and I think potentially we could get better. It's a shame that we're not going to get any money for him if he is to go. But I can't really blame the lad because, at the end of the day, if we truly wanted him to stay, I'm sure we would have offered him a new contract a little bit of time ago.

“We’ve let it get to the point now where effectively he's in control. He's going to be looking for the best possible deal for him, moneywise and obviously his career.

“So, you know, if a team comes in for him like a Sheffield United, who are going to have promotion ambitions next season, if they don't go up, or potentially even be in the Premier League, that's an easy option for him there.

“I wouldn't blame him if he did go, for those reasons. But as I say, I definitely think we could get a better replacement out there. But again, the question is, will we? I'm not so sure about that.”

Losing Darling for nothing will sting Swansea regardless

Regardless of opinion on Darling’s talent, it will sting the Welsh club to lose him on a free.

Just turning 26 as the new campaign will commence, the Cambridge-born defender is at that perfect age — with plenty of experience under his belt, but plenty of years left to play — that gives a defender strong value in the market.

That’s value that Darling will now likely be able to divert into his own pocket via a bumper signing-on bonus that may otherwise have flowed to Swansea themselves.

The Swans could well be able to pick up a defender with more promising than Darling, but they’ll need to dip into their own reserves to do so, where they could have been using the proceeds of a sale if they had acted with greater foresight.