Swansea City

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Luke Williams acknowledges that Swansea City old boy Morgan Whittaker will be one to watch when he returns to south Wales with Plymouth Argyle on Saturday.

Whittaker is in spectacular form, having scored 16 times this season, including eight in his last nine appearances.

Whittaker’s contribution at Argyle has led to question marks about why he was given only limited opportunities at Swansea before joining the Pilgrims for a fee of about £1m last summer.

“I worked with Morgan here,” said Swansea boss Williams, who had a spell at the Welsh club as a coach under Russell Martin.

“I know he had some difficult times when he was in and out of the squad but I don’t think anyone doubted that he would be a good player.

“But sometimes the timing is wrong, sometimes people need a new start.

“I am not shocked to see him do so well, but we would like him to do not so well for one game [this weekend] and then go back to being a star.”

Whittaker scored six goals in 37 appearances for Swansea after joining for about £700,000 in 2021.

He made only five league starts in a Swans shirt.

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The signing of Charles Sagoe Jr on deadline day means Swansea City have six loan players in their squad for the rest of the season.

However, EFL rules only allow five loan players to be included in a matchday squad.

Therefore, one of Carl Rushworth, Bashir Humphreys, Harrison Ashby, Charlie Patino, Jamal Lowe and Sagoe Jr will not be involved each time Swansea play.

But head coach Luke Williams is unconcerned about potential selection headaches.

“We have to prepare now for a tough period of football without windows,” he said.

“The notion that we’ll always have a fully fit squad and the loan players will all be available is probably unrealistic.

“There will be one or two decisions to make on who will miss out but I don’t see it being a huge problem.”

For the moment, at least, there is no issue, with forward Lowe expected to spend at least a few more weeks on the sidelines with a knee injury.

Ashby is also a doubt for Saturday’s meeting with Plymouth Argyle after coming off at Leicester in midweek.

“With Jamal’s injury, it made sense [to sign Sagoe Jr] because you can never guarantee a smooth return to play,” Williams added.

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Sheffield Wednesday could seal a late deadline-day loan move for Swansea City defender Kristian Pedersen.

The Owls are eager to bolster their defensive options and have identified Denmark international Pedersen as a target.

The 29-year-old joined the Swans from German outfit Cologne last summer but has made just five appearances for the Championship club this season.

BBC Wales Sport understands Swansea are willing to offload the versatile defender - who has 18 months left to run on his contract - before Thursday's 23:00 GMT deadline.

Schalke have also reportedly shown an interest in Pedersen, but the Owls are favourites to get a deal over the line.

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Swansea City are eyeing a deadline-day move for Norwich City’s Poland international Przemyslaw Placheta.

Placheta, 25, is a left-sided midfielder although he has played at left-back.

His Norwich contract expires at the end of the season.

Placheta has made 61 appearances since joining Norwich in 2020, scoring two goals, and had an injury-hit loan spell at Birmingham City last season.

He has played 19 times for Norwich this season – but made only six starts – and has not featured since a defeat at Millwall on 29 December.

Swansea are short of left-sided options having sent Nathanael Ogbeta and Nathan Tjoe-A-On out on loan this month.

Josh Tymon is their first-choice left-wingback, while Kristian Pedersen has not featured in a league game since October and could be allowed to leave before Thursday’s transfer deadline.

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We asked you for your thoughts on Swansea City's 3-1 defeat at Leicester City on Tuesday.

Here are some of your comments on the Swans:

Mike: At times Swansea played well but gave Leicester too much room and gave away two sloppy goals.

Robert: Swansea City are going down with this manager [Luke Williams], no clue how to defend.

Wyn: Swansea desperately need a commanding and experienced centre-half and, above all else, a leader.

Mal: Swansea going nowhere fast, one new player in, the same old story.

Kevin: Very poor, not a clue what they are doing. We need some new faces soon.

Tim: Lacking in just about every department, but should avoid relegation.

Gareth: We desperately need some attacking options in this [transfer] window. Just not creating enough in the final third.

Scott: We’ve lost our identity, we have taken such a backwards step in every direction, it is sad to see really! Hoping big Luke Williams can change that, but going to need time and bring in players for his style. Can only see long, dark roads for some time to come unfortunately.

Swansea boss Luke Williams says he "loved" striker Jerry Yates' performance in Tuesday's Championship defeat at Leicester City.

Speculation over Yates' future continues to swirl with Blackburn Rovers reportedly interested in the 27-year-old.

Yates is Swansea’s leading scorer this season, having scored seven goals in 32 appearances – 21 of which have been starts – since he joined from Blackpool in a deal worth about £3m last summer.

But the 27-year-old has started only three of Swansea’s 10 league games since Michael Duff was sacked in early December.

"I loved his performance tonight I think that he had a header late on in the game and I think if it goes in he really deserved that," said Williams after their 3-1 defeat.

"I was really happy with Jerry’s performance. He's still here, I'm still picking him. He’s the number nine as a big reward at the end of a hard week of training."

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Head coach Luke Williams is hopeful that Swansea City will bring in further new faces this week after being impressed by Ronald’s debut in the defeat at Leicester City.

Brazilian winger Ronald came on as a half-time substitute at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday night, barely a day after becoming Swansea’s first January signing.

Th 22-year-old made a couple of bright contributions as the Swans were beaten 3-1 by the Championship leaders.

“He looks direct, he looks like he has the confidence to go and run at people and he delivered a couple of balls into the box I really liked,” Williams said.

“That’s something we were keen to bring to the squad.”

Swansea are aiming to make further signings in this transfer window, while players could also depart before Thursday’s 23:00 GMT deadline.

Asked what he expects on deadline day, Williams added: “I am sure I will be at the training ground until midnight.

“I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen but I know there is a lot of work going on, so let’s see.

“It’s difficult to say exact numbers [of signings] but I would like the squad to be stronger at the end of the window than it was at the beginning.

“We have got one over the line, we like the look of him today. Let’s see if we can do some more business.”

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Swansea City captain Matt Grimes says they must "get everything exactly right" if they are to get a result against table-topping Leicester on Tuesday night.

The Swans are coming off the back of a 5-0 hammering at Bournemouth in the FA Cup, and things do not get much easier with a trip to the King Power Stadium.

Grimes, 28, said the Foxes are "near enough" a Premier League team, and admitted the Swans could do with a bit of good fortune.

"They are a fantastic team with fantastic players," said Grimes.

"It's an exciting challenge. You don't get any tougher than Southampton, Bournemouth and then Leicester, but we'll give it a right good go and see what happens.

"You press them, they hurt you. You sit back, they hurt you.

"You have to get everything exactly right, get a bit lucky and make sure you're on the top of your game to get a result."

Swansea found themselves five goals behind at half-time against Bournemouth last Thursday on a difficult evening for new boss Luke Williams.

Williams said they will "have to try and take as much learning" from the defeat as possible, a message echoed by Grimes.

"We learned so much, even from that defeat," said Grimes.

"You learn more from your losses than your wins."

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Luke Williams says Swansea City will adopt “a different approach” at Leicester City on Tuesday night after their FA Cup defeat to Bournemouth.

Swansea were thrashed 5-0 at the Vitality Stadium last Thursday, with head coach Williams saying afterwards he had set his team up to be “too aggressive” given the quality of their opponents.

After defeat to an in-form Premier League side, Swansea now face another demanding away fixture, this time against Championship leaders Leicester.

“A Premier League team will struggle to play against Bournemouth and we are in the process of trying to be a super-competitive Championship club,” Williams said.

“Imagine when you are not in the most perfect place you want to be in the Championship, you are trying to make a transition with a new coach, and then you go and play there. It’s really, really tough.

“Now we have an incredibly tough game, a team that are going to be in the [Premier League] playing Bournemouth in the near future.

“We have to try to take as much learning from the last game as we can and try to make a better fist of it.”

Swansea are again without the likes of Josh Key, Ben Cabango, Liam Walsh, Azeem Abdulai, Sam Parker and Jamal Lowe through injury as they take on a Leicester side who have not lost at home since 3 November.

The Foxes have been beaten in just one of their last 14 games in all competitions, though they have only taken one point from their last two league fixtures.

“Now we have to try to have a different approach because we know it’s going to be similar in terms of the levels,” Williams added.

“We have to make a different approach and that’s what we have been working on in the last couple of days.”

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Ashley Williams says his former club Swansea City's capture of Brazilian winger Ronald is "positive news".

The 22-year-old officially sealed a move from Gremio Anapolis to the Swans on Monday afternoon to become Luke Williams' first signing as boss.

“A bit of good news today," ex-Swansea captain Williams said during BBC Match of the Day's coverage of Blackburn Rovers v Wrexham.

"A little bit of Brazilian flair. I’ve got to be honest, I don’t know too much about him yet, but we’ll see.

“I think it’s a welcome signing, we needed a few bodies in the door.

"Happy to see some positive news."

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Swansea City head coach Luke Williams says he is not surprised by speculation over the future of Jerry Yates.

Yates is Swansea’s leading scorer this season, having scored seven goals in 31 appearances – 20 of which have been starts – since he joined from Blackpool in a deal worth about £3m last summer.

But the 27-year-old has started only two of Swansea’s nine league games since Michael Duff was sacked in early December.

Blackburn Rovers have been touted as potential suitors for the striker as Thursday’s transfer deadline approaches.

When asked about suggestions Yates could move on, Williams said: “It’s normal, particularly as number nines are of a premium.

“Everyone is always interested in another striker and [he is] a player who’s played in the division and people know him.

“I am not surprised, but at the moment it’s just speculation. It comes from somewhere I am sure, but at the moment it’s nothing more serious than that.”

Jamal Lowe is out for the next few weeks with a knee injury, leaving Yates, Liam Cullen and the relatively untried Mykola Kuharevich as Swansea’s only centre-forward options.

Asked if the Welsh club could afford Yates, Williams added: “I think it depends. There’s so much work going on looking at players and potentially something falls in our lap and it changes the landscape.

“We are focusing on trying to strengthen the squad.”

Swansea have unveiled Brazilian winger Ronald as their first January signing, with Williams saying they “got really close” on two other potential recruits.

“I cannot fault the level of work that has gone into trying to get the right players and to try to persuade these players that this is where their future lies,” he added.

“We have very narrowly missed out on a couple of players. We could be sitting here with three players. That work hasn’t stopped.

“The window is coming to an end, but there’s always more activity at the end. Everyone is waiting. So let’s see if we can make right the deals.”

Swansea have sent under-21 defender Lincoln McFayden on loan to Cymru Premier side Penybont for the rest of the season.

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Head coach Luke Williams says he wrongly set up his Swansea City team to be “too aggressive” resulting in a “horrible” 5-0 defeat at Bournemouth.

Swansea conceded all five goals in the first half of their FA Cup fourth-round tie at the Vitality Stadium.

Defeat means they only have their Championship campaign to focus on this season and next face a trip to league leaders Leicester City on Tuesday.

“I set the team up too aggressive and they exploited the space on the turnover,” said Williams.

“They pressed us very well and we didn’t cope with that at all and they steamrolled us, the game was over after 15 minutes.

“It’s a horrible feeling when you feel like you’ve let so many people down. Let’s try to make sure the message is don’t give up.

“I knew the fixtures approaching when I came here, so we have to try to find a way to help the players compete in these games, that’s my job. Let’s try to find a way that we can effectively defend but we have to try to get people to attack and score as well."

Williams paid tribute to the travelling Swans supporters for continuing to back the team even after such a heavy defeat.

“They’re incredible. I left an unbelievable club (Notts County) in a brilliant position because I think this is a club that’s unbelievable, so we owe them lot,” added Williams.

“We lost 5-0, it's horrible and it was difficult enough for the team to get here so imagine the travelling they’ve done and they’re still there clapping the team and myself.

“Certain players look like they have the confidence in themselves even though they were playing against Premier League players and other players looked more anxious, more nervous, that’s interesting for me to learn that and there were a few surprises”.

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Defender Nathanael Ogbeta is set to join League One side Bolton Wanderers on loan.

Ogbeta, 22, has played just three games since joining Swansea in January 2022 from Shrewsbury Town and is out of contract at the end of this season.

Last season he joined another League One team, Peterborough, on loan and made 17 appearances, scoring one goal.

When asked after last night’s FA Cup defeat to Bournemouth if a move to Bolton is happening, Swans head coach Luke Williams said: “I believe so."