Swansea City

With Swansea struggling for goals and Lee Trundle still scoring at the age of 48, we asked for your views on who fans would like to see back in their prime in Luke Williams’ side.

And it is fair to say a certain Spanish star is the striker supporters would love to see leading the line for the team.

Michu may have played his last game in white ten years ago, but memories of the forward’s goals that saw him the envy of Premier League rivals still loom large.

There were also calls for other cult heroes to be the subject of a dream time-machine transfer, but Spain international Michu was the majority pick.

Here is a selection of the responses:

Campo - Michu for his one season wonder antics would be amazing to have back! After him, Bony would be next on my list, on his day he was brilliant at holding the ball up and finishing strongly.

Steve Morris - Michu, though he had plenty of service

Simon - Bring back Michu, pure class!

Simon Lloyd - Alan Curtis

Glyn Williams - I'd bring Trunds on for a free kick! A couple of today’s players too frightened to have a shot!

Steve - Michu was one of the best strikers Swansea have had in recent times. Always looked like he would score. There was always an expectation he would score whenever he had the ball in the box.

Sam - While all of the names above are absolute legends at this club, it has to be Michu for me. In his prime he was genuinely something else to behold. Pure magic.

Stuart Green-John – Wilfried Bony

Simon - Michu all day long. He’d tear the Championship apart.

Robert Davies - Jason Scotland in his prime would rip this division up

Will - For me it has to be Michu. Before his injury he was an absolute phenomenon. I also think he'd be better suited for our current team than someone like Bony, who in his prime scored slightly more goals, but would struggle a lot more with poor service.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Rhys A - 100% have Trundle back in his prime. Top scorer, insanely skillful, and entertaining. What more could you ask for!!

Alan – Lee Trundle

Rusty - Michu every day of the week and twice on Sundays! The man got a Spain cap while they were reigning World and European Champions - and he was playing for the Swans - that’s how good he was!!!

Michael Dennis - Alan Waddle

Mike Warboys - Michu

Kasto - Michu all day long. The difference now is that the owners sell all our best talents. Very depressing.

Roggie - It's got to be a fully fit Michu, he would be scoring for fun in the Championship.

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Swansea City will wait for news on the fitness of South Korea midfielder Eom Ji-Sung after reports of a knee injury suffered on international duty.

Eom won his third cap for his country after appearing as a first-half substitute in the World Cup qualifier against Jordan, replacing Wolves' Hwang Hee-Chan.

But Eom was replaced himself in the second-half of the 2-0 win in Amman with reports from Asia citing a knee issue.

There are images of the 22-year-old leaving the ground on crutches, although it has been suggested the problem is not a serious one.

South Korea - who top their qualifying group - next play on Tuesday when the Taegeuk Warriors host Iraq.

Eom has been a success since arriving in south Wales from Gwangju this summer, featuring in all nine of their Championship games.

Elsewhere, Swans goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux is still waiting to make his international debut after being kept on the bench for Chile as Brazil scored late to win Friday morning's World Cup qualifier in Santiago 2-1.

And there was no morale-boosting goal for striker Zan Vipotnik after the 22-year-old came on 57 minutes into Slovenia's 3-0 defeat by Norway, Manchester City striker Erling Haaland scoring twice in the Oslo win.

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Lawrence Vigouroux must wait to discover whether his wait for a first senior cap will come during this international break.

As Vigouroux and the rest of the Chile squad prepare for a World Cup qualifying game against Brazil in the early hours of Friday morning, the goalkeeper has never had a stronger case for international recognition.

Vigouroux, who will be 31 next month, is in his first season playing regular Championship football.

Though he was part of a Premier League squad at Burnley last term, Vigouroux’s only previous senior football has come in the lower leagues at Swindon Town and Leyton Orient, while he had a brief spell playing in Chile for Everton de Vina del Mar.

Vigouroux has played every minute of Swansea’s season so far.

“He has been top,” said Swansea head coach Luke Williams.

“He didn’t play for quite a while so he is jumping back in at the deep end and I couldn’t be more happy with him.

“I have known him since he was a young player on loan [at Swindon] from Liverpool, but he’s really matured as a man and as a player.

“I think he has a way to go to improve his distribution for example. But I am really very happy to have him here.”

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Vigouroux has conceded just six goals in nine league games. Only two clubs, Sheffield United and Burnley, have been breached on fewer occasions in the Championship this season.

The record represents a significant step forward for Swansea, who have too often been let down by defensive frailties in recent seasons.

“The whole team take credit for that but I think the goalkeeper has been incredible, the back four have been incredible,” Williams added.

“Ultimately there’s going to be big headers, big tackles, big saves from those guys and they have been outstanding.”

If he is to feature for Chile - who also take on Colombia in this international break - Vigouroux will have to dislodge current first-choice goalkeeper Gabriel Arias.

Arias, 37, plays his club football for Argentinian top-flight side Racing Club.

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While Matt Grimes was not able to lead Swansea City to victory over Stoke City on Saturday, the skipper did attract glowing praise from opposition boss Narcis Pelach after the 0-0 draw at the Swansea.com Stadium.

"Matt Grimes is such a good player, he dictates the game and plays very well," said the Potters manager.

Swansea paid close to £1.75m to bring Grimes from Exeter City in 2015 and, after loan spells with Blackburn Rovers, Leeds United and Northampton Town, the midfielder has become a key part of the Swans team under a succession of bosses.

Luke Williams is the latest Swans head coach to appreciate a player who was first handed the captain's armband by Steve Cooper for the 2019-20 season, as the 29-year-old closes on a decade of service to the south Wales club.

Pelach, along with other Championship coaches no doubt, has pitted wits against Grimes and his Swans team-mates since his time as Huddersfield Town's interim boss, then as Norwich City's first-team coach, before taking over at Stoke last September.

“It’s difficult to compete against them and I know that because with Huddersfield, with Norwich I played against him [Grimes] that it’s tough," Pelach said.

"To see a good battle, two teams trying to get a win, I think it was nice to see.”

Going into the international break, the stalemate left Swansea 11th in the Championship, four points off the play-off places but with their unbeaten home record this season intact.

Swansea return to action on Saturday, 19 October with a trip to eighth-placed Blackburn Rovers, and are again in league action three days later as they head to Sheffield Wednesday.

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Joe Allen’s Wales return means Luke Williams will be without eight senior Swansea players during this international break.

Allen joins club-mates Ben Cabango, Ollie Cooper and Liam Cullen in Craig Bellamy’s squad for the Nations League games in Iceland on Friday and at home to Montenegro next Monday.

Williams may have fingers crossed that striker Zan Vipotnik will get a confidence-boosting goal while he is away with Slovenia.

They are also in Nations League action, with away games against Erling Haaland’s Norway on Thursday and Kazakhstan next Sunday.

There are others in the Swansea squad who will go further on their travels, with goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux in the Chile squad for their World Cup qualifying games against Brazil in Santiago in the early hours of Friday and in Colombia on Tuesday, 15 October.

Eom Ji-Sung has again been called up by South Korea, who play World Cup qualifiers in Jordan on Thursday and at home to Iraq five days later.

Nathan Tjoe-A-On, meanwhile, will also be in World Cup qualifying action for Indonesia, who go to Bahrain on Thursday before another away fixture against China the following Tuesday.

Image source, FAW

While Swansea City are finding it tough going in front of goal this season, a former star is showing you never lose a scoring touch.

The Swans’ goalless draw with Stoke City at the weekend made it the fourth time Luke Williams’ side have drawn a blank this season – with only rivals Cardiff City (five) failing to find the net on more occasions.

Although creating chances and still occupying a place in the top half of the Championship, Swansea have only managed eight league goals – with Preston North End (seven) and Cardiff (four) the only sides with fewer.

It has led to boss Williams saying he needs to play the role of a psychologist to help, and former striker Ian Walsh blaming a lack of service.

But Swansea have also been shorn of a star striker since the sale of Joel Piroe to Leeds United last summer.

Before him, Swans fans could count on the likes of Andre Ayew, Oli McBurnie, Fernando Llorente, Wilfried Bony and streets favourite Michu to grab the goals.

But another cult hero is still in red-hot form only a few miles from the Swansea.com Stadium, with Lee Trundle still banging them in for Cymru South side Trefelin.

Trundle signed for the Port Talbot-based side in Wales’ second tier at the start of the season.

And even at the age of 47, the skilful goalscorer – who also serves as Swansea’s club ambassador – has managed eight goals in just nine games.

His latest came on Friday when he scored in the fourth minute of injury time to earn Trefelin a point in a 3-3 draw with Taffs Well, lining up alongside former Wales midfielder Shaun MacDonald.

Trundle scored 91 goals for Swansea across 194 appearances over two spells and remains one of the club’s most popular players.

Which begs the question, if you could magically return one former Swansea striker back to their peak of their powers to help out the current side, who would you choose?

Trundle? Bony? Michu? Jason Scotland? Or even Bob Latchford?

Send us your dream choice here, external.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Wales striker Iwan Roberts believes Swansea City can be pleased with their start to the 2024-25 season despite being frustrated in their last three games.

The Swans are without a win since beating Coventry City 2-1 at the Coventry Building Society Arena on 21 September.

Indeed, Luke Williams' side surrendered a lead against Bristol City before Josh Tymon's own goal handed Sheffield United victory and then the Swans were unable to break down a stubborn Stoke City side.

Swansea sit 11th going into the penultimate international break of 2024, having claimed 12 of the 27 points on offer so far this term.

But Roberts feels that tally should be higher given some of the Swans' performances to date.

"I think it's been a good start to the season for Swansea, I think they should have more points than they've got. They're four points off the play-off places," Roberts told Radio Cymru's Dros Frecwast.

"Their defence is performing well, it's the third best defence in the league.

"But the attacking side, it's the third worst, only Preston and Cardiff have scored fewer goals than Swansea."

On the 0-0 draw with Stoke, Roberts added: "I can understand Swansea fans will be a bit disappointed with the result, they had enough chances in the first-half.

"Ronald should have gone home with the match ball, Eom [Ji-sung] hit the bar.

"In the second-half, fair play, Stoke were the better team, but it's been a good start to the season [for Swansea]."

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Ian Walsh believes the lack of service received by Swansea City's strikers is massively hampering Luke Williams' side.

The Swans impressed in spells against Stoke City in their final fixture before the international break but were unable to bulge the net as the contest in south Wales ended goalless.

Only bottom side Cardiff City and Preston North End have scored fewer than Swansea's tally of eight Championship goals so far this term.

And ex-Wales frontman Walsh said it would be a "nightmare" to be a striker in the current Swansea setup. 

“It seems like Swansea are always trying to play the perfect game, the perfect pass and score the perfect goal," he told BBC Radio Wales.

"Sometimes football isn’t perfect, sometimes a game needs to be scrapped out, especially in the Championship. Not enough creativity and quality in the final third.

"For me as a former striker, playing in this Swansea team today would be a nightmare, there’s a lack of opportunities for the frontmen."

Reflecting on the stalemate with the Potters, Walsh added: “It wasn’t a great spectacle, I’m disappointed with the way Swansea ended the game. 

"I’ve seen them too often this season where they’ve been okay for most of the game, but then let the opposition in.

"It might be down to fitness; they changed a lot of players in the second half."

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Luke Williams will ask his players for a final push before the season’s second international break when Swansea City host Stoke City on Saturday.

Swansea are back on home soil after a midweek defeat at Sheffield United.

The Bramall Lane reverse was a third on the road in the Championship in 2024-25, but Williams’ team will defend an unbeaten home record in the league this season as they take on the Potters.

Swansea have beaten Preston and Norwich City on their own ground this term, while there have been draws with Cardiff City and Bristol City.

“We have had a couple of draws we feel we disappointed we didn’t convert to wins, particularly after scoring first in both games,” Williams said.

“But overall we should be quite pleased with our home form.

“Now we have to find the energy, intensity and quality to play one more game in this block before a bit of a break.”

Stoke, in 15th, are two points and three places worse off than Swansea in the early-season Championship table.

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Following the sacking of Steven Schumacher, Stoke lost their first two games under new boss Narcis Pelach – who was part of Norwich’s staff when they lost at Swansea in September – before thrashing Portsmouth 6-1 in midweek.

“It certainly looks like they’ve found their feet and they will be full of confidence after that win,” Williams added.

“I think the new manager is going to do well. I was lucky to meet him just a few weeks ago because he was on the staff at a different club.

“He is very enthusiastic and I hear a lot of good things about him as a coach and how he can put his ideas across to the group. Watching the team, it’s quite evident that that’s the case.

“It’s a team being reborn at the moment and we have to be on our guard for that.”

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Luke Williams says Goncalo Franco was given a rest this week because the midfielder was showing signs of fatigue.

Franco, 23, has been one of Swansea City’s star performers since joining the Championship club from Portuguese side Moreirense in the summer.

But he was left to watch on from the bench as Swansea were beaten at Sheffield United on Wednesday.

“There’s no question that Franco has settled in really well and has given us some good performances,” said Swansea head coach Williams.

“He is a young player making his first appearances at this level. In his last performance I could see some signs of fatigue and in the testing scores we could see some signs of fatigue.

“Then of course we have Jay Fulton who is brilliant. Franco has taken a lot of the minutes, but Jay’s a fantastic player and he did brilliantly at Sheffield United.”

Williams must decide whether to stick with the dependable Fulton against Stoke City, or recall Franco.

Liam Cullen is back in contention as Swansea look to maintain their unbeaten home record in the Championship this season.

Kristian Pedersen and Sam Parker are still unavailable after injury issues, though Williams says both players are close to returning to full training.

But there is still no sign of Josh Ginnelly making a comeback more than a year after he suffered a ruptured Achilles.

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Swansea City are showing "great improvement" under Luke Williams, according to club captain Matt Grimes.

The Swans sit 12th in the Championship after eight matches of the 2024-25 season.

Indeed, Williams' side have a strong home record having gone unbeaten in their opening four league fixtures at the Swansea.com Stadium.

They are also proving difficult to score against, with only Burnley, Sheffield United, Leeds United and Middlesbrough conceding fewer than Swansea's tally of six goals given away to date.

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales, Grimes said: "We're making steps in the right direction.

"Since the manager has come in, we've always wanted to go toe-to-toe against any team we come up against.

"We're showing great improvement in every game and hopefully we can have a strong season."

Swansea saw their three-game unbeaten run come to an end as they lost 1-0 to Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

Williams' side return to action against Stoke City on Saturday (15:00 BST), and Grimes knows Swansea's unbeaten home Championship record will be put to the test by a Potters side that thumped Portsmouth 6-1 in midweek.

"Yeah, really good [home form]. I know it'll be a tough game, playing against Stoke is always tough," added Grimes.

"It's a very fast turnaround, we'll rest up and go again.

"The Championship is mental, everyone knows that, but hopefully they [Stoke] have used all of their goals up for the week."

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Matt Grimes believes Joe Allen's international return can "only be positive" for Wales.

Midfielder Allen retired from international duty little more than two months after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar but has been included in Craig Bellamy's squad for the upcoming Nations League fixtures against Iceland and Montenegro.

And Swansea City captain Grimes says Allen's international recall will provide a "massive boost" to the Wales squad.

"He's an unbelievable guy and an unbelievable player," Grimes told BBC Sport Wales.

"I think it's a massive boost for Wales and their lads because he's just a brilliant player. It can only be positive.

"Joe gives you so much more than just the football. He's an unbelievable leader and character on and off the pitch, just having him there with his experience is unbelievable."

Grimes has been a mainstay for the Swans since they were relegated from the Premier League in 2018.

The Swansea skipper is now one of the key senior figures under Luke Williams, although he admits the experience of Allen and Kyle Naughton have been hugely beneficial when it comes to improving his own leadership qualities.

"I learn off a lot of the senior players that have been here over the years," added Grimes.

"Joe and Naughts are the two now, they've done everything in their careers.

"They've played at the highest level. You'd be a fool if you didn't draw inspiration from them."

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Swansea City captain Matt Grimes described Josh Tymon as the "best left-back" in the Championship following his string of impressive displays for the club.

Tymon, 25, struggled to make his mark under Michael Duff after joining the Swans from Stoke City in the summer of 2023.

But he has been one of the club's best performers under current head coach Luke Williams - who was appointed boss in January.

He was swiftly supported by his team-mates and coaching staff after turning the ball into his own net as Sheffield United beat Swansea 1-0 at Bramall Lane on Wednesday night.

And Grimes says the experienced defender will be unfazed by his own goal against the Blades as the Swans turn their attention to facing Tymon's former club Stoke on Saturday.

"Tymo's been one of our best players for a long time now," Grimes told BBC Sport Wales.

"He's been at the club just over a year and he's been absolutely phenomenal.

"He's a top talent, he's the best left-back in the league in my opinion.

"It won't phase him at all, it's one of those things, it happens to us all at different times."

Image source, Rex Features

Luke Williams says he is "suffering" on Josh Tymon's behalf after the Swansea City defender's own goal handed Sheffield United victory over his side.

The left-back volleyed Harrison Burrows' cross into his own net on the stroke of half-time at Bramall Lane as the Blades secured a 1-0 win to end Swansea's three-game unbeaten run.

As Tymon cut a dejected figure while walking off the pitch at half-time, the defender was consoled by several members of Swansea's coaching staff, including Williams.

And the head coach urged the 25-year-old to keep his head up as Swansea prepare to return to action against Tymon's former club Stoke City on Saturday (15:00 BST).

"He's (Tymon) been a brilliant player for us. We love him. I don't want him to feel so terrible when he's doing everything right," Williams told BBC Radio Wales.

"It's not like a sloppy error from a player out of focus or making a terrible decision.

"He gives everything week-in week-out and he tried to scoop the ball away from danger and this happened.

"I'm suffering for him and I couldn't wait to tell him that I trust him and tell him not to dwell on it.

"He's a top player, he's going to be fine."