Sunday Supplement: Lets assess the Swansea City transfer rumours to date
Sunday, 3rd Jan 2021 12:27 by Keith Haynes & Steph Thomas

It’s that time of the year which comes around all too often for many supporters that have to submit to speculation and - rumour regards certain players coming in or going out of their clubs. Let’s have a look again, as we did back in October at the rumoured few apparently just waiting for a call from Swans CEO Julian Winter. These are the players recruiter Andy Scott knows all about.

There should be a side note to articles like these, one particular story on Fabio Borini which was delicately sourced and annotated did cause a stir in the minds of the let’s say, the more cognitively challenged readers of this website. Obviously it was done to unsettle and undermine the success of these pages. And after thought we supposed and put it down to a lack of cerebral clarity in those one or two. And it was just that, one or two, who can’t enjoy reading about the swans and joining in a healthy discussion on potential future happenings at our club. without being personal and vindictive. So that’s the first issue out of the way.

The second issue is who are we on about, luckily we have many sources old and new who can be spoken to and in a friendly manner will add a few touches to our articles, these people are called journalists, sources close to the club, the player or in general. We weigh up the information and test it with those we trust and decide upon the strength of the news item. So this is what we have done today. Please enjoy reading and supporting Swansea Independent.

Max Watters
There is no denying the swans interest in this player, a pre Christmas bid for him of around half a million was rejected by his club Crawley Town. Some will say it’s only this season that he has started scoring and for a twenty one year old that’s a bit late in the day. Watters started in non league prior to his football league career, capped by England schoolboys he is most certainly a player that Steve Cooper will be aware of. It goes without saying that recruiter Andy Scott will have done his homework on the player too. Having failed to impress at Doncaster Rovers and on loan he was snapped up by Crawley last year for no money at all after spells in non league football. . Waters has repaid them handsomely and Swansea’s initial interest has sparked others to join in the hunt. Watters wasn't named in the Crawley team on the weekend prompting more speculation that Swansea or indeed another championship side has secured his services.

It seems the swans could be favourites as they continue to search for a player to add to this seasons goal tally with the loan of Viktor Gyorkeres from Brighton clearly having not worked out. However the transfer fee seems high for a player like Watters to some, if he did join the swans and contributed those missing goals nobody will be complaining.

Joel Randall
The 21-year-old Salisbury born player is considered to be one of the brightest talents in League Two and is enjoying a breakthrough campaign this year. Randall has already scored eight goals in 23 matches, and his performances have turned the heads of a host of clubs. Randall had only played seven professional matches for Exeter before the start of the season, having loan spells at local non-league sides Taunton Town and Tiverton Town.

But this term he has broken through in some style, and he is now believed to be worth around £1.5 million. With his contract running until the end of the 2021-22 season, the Grecians are not at risk of losing the player yet but may be tempted to sell at the right place. They have established a reputation for nurturing talented players in their academy, having brought through Ethan Ampadu and Ollie Watkins. While they lost out on a great windfall from the former when he moved to Chelsea, Watkins was sold to Brentford for almost £2 million, and Exeter earned even more last summer with a 15 per cent cut of his £28 million switch to Aston Villa. Forward options are believed to be high on the list of January priorities for Swansea, who are currently second in the Championship. Randall who has scored six goals this season has only come to notice in recent weeks, another player numerous clubs are interested in, the fee Exeter want seems far too high for Swansea City to manage.

Aaron Jordan Pierre
Aged 28 in February and currently at Shrewsbury, recruiter Andy Scott knows Pierre from his time at Brentford. Pierre failed to break in to the first eleven at Brentford and found himself at Northampton Town then Shrewsbury in the lower leagues. Now an international for Grenada his performances for Shrewsbury have most certainly attracted attention. A versatile and tough defender with a good knowledge with regard to scoring goals he has scored 27 goals in 238 professional appearances. Described as uncompromising, hard and at times brutal Pierre would see a shot at the big time with Swansea a positive move.

He would also settle Steve Cooper's mind when situations such as yesterdays late team change which saw Joel Owen Latibeaudiere injured just minutes before kick off. Pierre is not a dead cert but his transfer rating to join the swans has to be a good seventy percent.

Who is Andy Scott ?
“The aim has always been to put a professional recruitment structure in place to improve our due diligence in scouting players and enable the club to make better decisions which, in turn, should provide stability for the club going forward.’’
Trevor Birch Ex Swans CEO

Ex-striker Scott began his playing career in the youth set-up at Wimbledon before dropping down to non-league level with Sutton United. From there he got a move to Premier League Sheffield United in 1992 and spent five years at Bramall Lane, which included loan spells with Chesterfield and Bury. He moved to Griffin Park to join Brentford in 1997, scoring on his debut and going on to help the Bees win promotion back to what is now League One in 1999 after relegation the previous season. After four years in west London, Scott made the switch to Oxford — netting in a 2-1 win over the Swans during his time at the Manor Ground - and then Leyton Orient.

His playing career was brought to an end when he was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in 2005, and he went on to move into a youth coaching role with the Os. Following his experience Scott has since become a patron for Cardiac Risk in the Young. In 2007, he returned to Brentford as assistant to Terry Butcher and - after a successful caretaker stint following the ex-England defender’s departure - soon took over the reins himself. Gaining a reputation for astute business in the transfer market — including the signing of Jordan Rhodes among others — Scott led them to the League Two title in 2009, which was followed by ninth place in League One the next season.

The Bees went on to enjoy a fine run in the League Cup during the 2010-11 season, knocking out Premier League Hull and Everton, before Scott left the club in February 2011. He went on to have managerial stints in charge of Rotherham and Aldershot, but was soon back at Brentford again; this time as chief scout. He soon became head of recruitment, before making the switch to Premier League Watford in 2017, firstly becoming the Hornets’ UK football recruitment director and then sporting director.

He left Vicarage Road in April 2019 and will now get down to work at the Liberty Stadium.

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