Wales' Cooper may be allowed to leave Swansea

Midfielder Ollie Cooper has scored nine goals in 117 senior appearances for Swansea

Head coach Alan Sheehan has suggested Ollie Cooper could leave Swansea City in this transfer window if the Wales midfielder wants to move on in search of regular football.

Cooper, 25, has been an unused substitute in the first two Championship fixtures of the season and has never started a league game under Sheehan.

Swansea have strengthened their midfield options in this window, with Marko Stamenic, Malick Yalcouye and Ethan Galbraith joining to compete with Cooper, Jay Fulton and Melker Widell – who arrived this summer after signing in January – for game time.

While Sheehan expects the long-serving Fulton to stay at Swansea, he has not ruled the idea of academy product Cooper departing before the window closes on 1 September.

"If a player wants to play regular football and you can't guarantee it, look that's a conversation," Sheehan said.

"But right now Ollie is doing well - he is involved in the group. We have good competition in there so there's no problems.

"Nobody will ever be forced out of the door here as long as I am here. That will be the player's decision ultimately."

Cooper played the full 90 minutes as Swansea overcame Crawley Town in the Carabao Cup earlier this month.

But he faces a fight merely to make the substitutes' bench when Sheehan's side host Watford in the league this Saturday following Stamenic's move from Nottingham Forest this week.

Ollie Cooper has regularly featured in the Wales squad since Craig Bellamy took charge

Cooper featured in 12 of Sheehan's 13 league games at the helm last season, though all those appearances came from the bench.

He also managed only three substitute appearances during Sheehan's seven-game spell in caretaker charge during the 2023-24 campaign.

"With Ollie, his minutes have been limited really and [he has] probably struggled to get a run," Sheehan said.

"Potentially last year he was up against Culls (Liam Cullen) and then Lewis O'Brien was in that position.

"We wanted to keep strengthening and increasing competition for places and that (Cooper's situation) is one we'll have to look at in the next few days."

Sheehan said there has been "potentially some interest" in Cooper, who is under contract at Swansea until at least the summer of 2027.

Fulton, meanwhile, sees his contract expire at the end of this campaign.

The 31-year-old Scot started Swansea's opening game of the season at Middlesbrough and also featured as a late substitute in last weekend's win over Sheffield United.

"Jay is huge," Sheehan said.

"He has played most of the games since I have been in charge. He is a wonderful professional, he is great for the culture.

"I have had a conversation with Jay that there will be competition for places and you want people fighting for the shirt in the right way."

Cameron Congreve is another Swansea academy product who could depart in this window, with Scottish Premiership side Dundee keen to take the winger on loan after his stint at Bromley last season.