Darling given an ultimatum plus what next ?
Sunday, 4th May 2025 08:00 by Keith Haynes

Harry Darling is recovering from a fall prior to the Millwall away game last weekend, and as illustrated yesterday cannot walk unaided. This should put to bed some of the crazy talk around his omission over the past eight days. He also missed last Thursdays annual player awards dinner in Swansea.

There has been much talk of his contract offer which he received on Thursday after discussions with Sporting Director, Richard Montague, whose primary role is to get deals such as this over the line. The news we have on this is that the contract offer is now being looked over by Harry, his agency and will if necessary be reviewed by a professional law firm such as Brabners or the extremely well thought of, Espen Auberg in Norway. Harry’s agent is Paul Nicholls who works out of Chelmsford in Essex and he has figured heavily in discussions, and will also be fully aware of his clients options this morning.

Those options we do know feature clubs who you would expect to be able to offer Harry a contract that will contain a higher salary. However, we have been told that his basic Swansea contract offer will make him the highest paid permanent player at Swansea. These days the Swans are very keen on filling players contracts with bonuses and add ons that could mean any contract Harry is offered would rival what else is on offer elsewhere. However, that means the player has to be a success (as does the team) and plays regularly. Within that there could be countless additional clauses personal to the player. Not only goals but appearances, personal development, milestones, fitness, an above average stats profile from games and yes, we could go on and on.

⚽️ Where are we now ? Deadline ?
Harry has been told that there is nothing more the Swans can offer. The dialogue between Montague and Nicholls especially has left Darling’s agent with no doubts whatsoever regards this offer. He now knows there is no more negotiation on salary and additional finances. There is no good in coming back and asking for more. Harry does have a settled family life in Swansea and has always stated he has enjoyed the area. We have to ask the question, is that good enough ? It seems that now there can only be one of two answers, yes or no. And the Swans want that answer next week. The reasoning behind it is the club simply cannot wait with players already sourced for his replacement. The club doesn’t want to go into the last weeks of the transfer window still looking because these players will already be at new clubs or signed on at their current clubs. That isn’t what Swansea City want to be doing at the end of July. And that’s where Harry has a duty as well. His contract does run until the end of June. The window opens just before that for the summer. It’s no good approaching players and their agents with a ‘Well, if Harry does go we might want to sign you’ That’s not how it works. And is unprofessional. That is the exact state of play as we go into next week.

Greg Spires who works within, data manipulation, analysis and visualisation has looked into Harry’s current performance value and indeed who could replace him. These stats were valid as of April 1st 2025. Basically Harry is an exceptional defensive footballer with attributes in possession and for his position goalscoring. He is a real danger at set pieces with very good dual winning moments.

We will link in Greg’s details below. However, what came out of this investigation is that there are players out there who has similar attributes to those that Harry possesses. He plays for Peterborough United, and that is twenty three year old Emmanuel Fernandez. However, he needs to work on his heading ability. These are just suggestions from an impartial analyst. It’s good to have different views.

And they are welcome.

In 2023 Mads Bech Sørensen left Brentford for FC Midtjylland on a free transfer. The Danish centre back was at Brentford. His contract ends in 2027 but he is a strong contender. Again, this is a player with performance levels that compare somewhat to Harry Darling. He is twenty six, in his prime but would cost a fee. The final player is twenty seven year old Hull City, Alfie Jones. Maybe moving towards an age where the Swans would feel slightly uncomfortable in pursuing him ?

Keep an eye on Greg Spires he’s making his way in the game. More on Harry Darling over the coming day or so.