Swansea City: Luke Williams has food for thought after West Ham, Bournemouth player interest - View | OneFootball

Premier League interest in Azeem Abdulai should convince Luke Williams to play him in his favoured position

It's been an encouraging start to the season for Swansea City youngster Azeem Abdulai, with the Scotland U21 international bagging two goals for Luke Williams' side in the opening weeks of the season, despite playing out of position.

Abdulai is a central midfielder by trade, but he's been used by Williams as a winger due to a lack of depth in wide positions, and while he's performed admirably, it's clear that his long-term future is in the middle of the park.

The 21-year-old is highly rated and it was recently reported that Premier League sides Bournemouth and West Ham are keen on a move for him by Teamtalk, with Swansea reportedly aware of the growing interest in the Scotsman.

It's not the first time that bigger clubs have been interested in Abdulai, with the likes of Newcastle United, Aston Villa, and Bayer Leverkusen linked with the midfielder last summer, as per The Daily Mail.

However, given the fact he's been played out of position, Swansea fans will believe they're yet to see the best of Abdulai, and perhaps yet to see why he's being linked with top-flight clubs.

West Ham, Bournemouth interest should give Luke Williams food for thought

If Abdulai is good enough to attract interest from a Premier League club, then perhaps he should be good enough to play in his preferred position for Swansea instead of being shifted out onto the wing.

Swansea have depth in central midfield with the likes of Matt Grimes, Goncalo Franco, Jay Fulton and Joe Allen, but Abdulai hasn't been given a fair chance in midfield, and a chance to play in his preferred position may allow the youngster to play to his full potential.

It speaks volumes about Abdulai's talent that a player of his age with little senior experience is trusted to play out of position, but Swansea could have a gem on their hands who is being wasted by playing in a position he's clearly not as good at.

The recent report from Teamtalk has compared Abdulai to Jude Bellingham thanks to their similar playing style and stature, a comparison that would have raised eyebrows amongst the Jack Army, but it's led to an appetite from Swansea fans to see the 21-year-old play in his natural position.

He has done an admirable job of playing out of position, but he lacks the pace to play on the wing, and surely links with Premier League clubs will force Williams to play him in his favoured position to see what he's capable of.

It would be a travesty if Abdulai was to leave Swansea without ever getting a chance in midfield, and interest from top-flight clubs must force Williams' hand to give the Scotsman an opportunity to string a run of games together in the centre of the park.

Azeem Abdulai has started the season brightly for Swansea City

It's not unfair to say that Abdulai is a square peg in a round hole on the wing for Swansea and Williams probably knows that too but the youngster doesn't complain about being played out of position and has got on with it.

The 2023/24 season was set to be his breakthrough campaign and he made his league debut in the Swans' opening Championship game of the season against Birmingham City but an injury suffered later that month would rule him out until January and he didn't play a league game again until April.

He didn't start a league game last season, but he started three times in the cup, playing left midfield twice and at right-back once, showing that he seems to have been used everywhere apart from his natural position.

The Glasgow-born midfielder made his first league start for Swansea on the opening day of the current campaign against Middlesbrough, and he was taken off at half-time after giving away a penalty, but he's shown maturity beyond his years to recover from that.

He scored in Swansea's Carabao Cup win against Gillingham three days after the defeat at Boro, before scoring his side's second goal in their 3-0 win over Preston in the Championship, taking his tally to two for the season.

After suffering an injury last season, this season looks set to be Abdulai's breakthrough campaign in senior football, and the Jack Army desperately want to see what he's capable of in his natural position of central midfield.