It went down to the wire, and the odd issues of incompetence seen a few times before at the end of a transfer window were not evident, so there’s much to consider. Three more players in on deadline day along with Jordan Morris, Conor Hourihane and Ben Hamer signals intent for the remaining games of the season.
So, let’s look at the breakdown of players, first off those coming in
Ben Hamer (from Huddersfield Town) - Free transfer (including potential add-ons)
Conor Hourihane (from Aston Villa) - Loan
Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders) - Loan (with option to buy)
Morgan Whittaker (Derby County) - Permanent transfer
Paul Arriola (DC United) - Loan
Kieron Freeman (Swindon Town) - Permanent transfer
And now the players out -
Morgan Gibbs-White (Wolves) - Recalled from loan
Kasey Palmer (Bristol City) - Recalled from loan
Viktor Gyokeres (Brighton) - Recalled from loan
Declan John (Bolton Wanderers) - Loan
George Byers (Portsmouth) - Loan
Jack Evans (Newport County) - Free transfer
Joe Lewis (Torquay United) - Permanent transfer (undisclosed)
Matthew Blake (Cardiff Met) - Loan
Josh Thomas (Cardiff Met) - Loan
Jordon Garrick - (Swindon Town) - Loan
Paul Arriola joins on a short term loan with no option to buy
We know some targets were not met, we know that not all deals were made, and over the month we have explored as much as we can - the rumours, the possibles, the probables and in Steve Cooper’s words "The non negotiables" Using all the contacts we have there is never a good time to not report breaking news, but we have honoured our sources during the course of the window. We knew it would go down to the wire, these are odd times so we knew also it would be harder to communicate directly person to person. The big signing was Conor Hourihane, without a doubt, and as we know a lot of clubs prey on Swansea City’s in depth scouting processes, and in some cases during this window certain clubs have come in and tried to steal the booty, ( in one case it worked superbly well ) Oh, for a certain club to have the personal due diligence processes of ours. And don’t let me start on medicals. You either do them right, or ...
You don’t.
Jordan Morris was another that although you may well have heard, or read it here first or amongst other outlets within hours, again we kept the news in house, three days were needed before this player could become news. He will be gold for the swans, we are sure.
Morgan Whittaker may also fit that profile too, a lengthy negotiation which started three weeks ago could have been scuppered by spontaneous reporting for a tiny bit of kudos.We have our club at heart, it was never going to happen. Steve Cooper has long been an admirer of Kieron Freeman, the ex Sheffield United man who has lost his way in the past year or so falling down the leagues, desperate to stay in the game. Swans fans are going to be impressed with him for sure. A key player in the Sheffield United promotion to the premier league, at 28 he has a short contract that may well see him back there come the summer. That’s down to him, he needs to show true commitment, we know that Cooper isn’t one to let the grafters down at Swansea.
Paul Arriola was more on and off than my kettle on deadline day, he wanted to play for his country on Sunday so it seemed it wasn’t going to happen. Swansea went back in on Monday morning after the deal that was prepared by D.C. United and Steve Kaplan seemed dead in the water, and for whatever reason a change of heart has earned him a short term, no option to buy, recall at anytime deal.
Jordan Garrick joins Swindon on loan and will get the game time he really needs
It’s been a blinding month, yes, we know some fans are never happy, but those players that have left, in some cases will be back. Jordan Garrick needs game time, in the words of one Mr Redknapp last night "Games is what these boys need, not reserve football, proper games” And at Swindon Jordan will get them. George Byers too at Portsmouth, he finds himself at a career crossroads. He should take heart from Matt Grimes journey to where he is today, Grimes did the hard miles at Leeds and Northampton, came back to Swansea and won the clubs hearts with his performances.
Kieron Freeman arrives with everything to prove
We may well have a look at the hard work done in the past month again in the week, but now the speculation is finished, the rumours gone, and Norwich City in what is clearly the biggest game of the season looms large on a Friday night horizon. What a month !
Let us know what you think of the clubs business below or on our forums, how did other Swansea outlets do compared to Swansea Independent, we don’t mean name and shame, you don’t have to name them, in fact we would prefer you didn’t, just how did our news day rate in the Swansea City mix ? Let us know, we aim to improve.