Swansea will 'not rush' to spend Wilfried Bony fee - Mark Gower

Wilfried Bony scored 34 goals in 70 games for Swansea

Swansea City are unlikely to rush to replace striker Wilfried Bony, says their former midfielder Mark Gower.

The Ivory Coast striker, 26, has signed for Manchester City in a deal that could net Swansea up to £28m.

"Obviously they've got a bit of money to spend now," said Gower, who played 145 games for the Welsh club from 2008-2013.

"But I don't think the manager will rush out or be pressured into buying someone that he doesn't really want."

While conceding that Bony will leave a big hole to fill Gower, 36, believes manager Garry Monk has enough strength in attack with Bafetimbi Gomis and Nelson Oliveira.

If anything, Gower believes Monk could seek to strengthen his squad in other areas during the January transfer window.

Stuttgart midfielder Alexandru Maxim, Tottenham right-back Kyle Naughton and Norwich City left-back Martin Olsson have all been linked with a move to Liberty Stadium.

"Whether it will be in the striker position in this window I'm not sure, I think he'll look at some other positions as well," Gower added.

"But there's still reasons to be cheerful: you look at Gomis and he's shown some real talent.

"If he gets a run of games in the team I'm really confident that he'll start scoring some goals for Swansea.

"Oliveira, his pedigree is great as well. I think he was named one of the best players in the Under-20 World Cup a couple of years ago, so he could come in and hit the ground running.

"There's still great optimism to be had at Swansea this season."

Swansea will begin the post-Bony era by hosting Premier League leaders Chelsea on Saturday.