Nathanael Ogbeta's Swansea City situation explained…

Nathanael Ogbeta's Swansea City situation explained following omission and summer transfer interest

Nathanael Ogbeta is increasingly likely to leave Swansea City this summer, WalesOnline understands.

The versatile defender joined the Swans from Shrewsbury Town on transfer deadline day in January but was unavailable for a significant spell due to a hamstring injury. He made his debut as a substitute in the 1-0 loss to Blackpool at Bloomfield Road on March 12 before featuring off the bench against Birmingham City seven days later.

However, he got no further minutes for Swansea last term, with Hannes Wolf being handed a prominent role on the left flank after joining on loan from Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Having put his injury woes behind him, Ogbeta was determined to hit the ground running this summer and has taken full part in Swansea's pre-season - both at Pennyhill Park and Fairwood.

The 21-year-old featured in each of the club's pre-season fixtures against Haverfordwest County, Colchester United, Forest Green Rovers, Plymouth Argyle and Bristol Rovers. However, he was left out of the 18-man matchday squad to face Charlton Athletic at The Valley on Saturday.

Several fringe players including Jordon Garrick, Kyle Joseph and Brandon Cooper featured for the club's under-21s side against Brentford B on Saturday, although Ogbeta was not even involved with the youth side at the weekend.

It's understood Ogbeta has been told he does not feature in Swansea's first-team plans for the season ahead and that he has already rejected three moves to leave the club this summer. He had been keen to prove his worth and force his way into Russell Martin's first-team plans after a difficult start to life as a Swan.

However, he now appears destined to leave Swansea in the coming weeks having attracted interest from numerous clubs in England and Scotland. The Swans were determined to bring in a left wing-back in January following the sale of Jake Bidwell to Coventry City.

Ogbeta was identified by Swansea's former sporting director Mark Allen, who worked with the player at Manchester City. He joined for a fee of £300,000 and signed a club contract lasting two and a half years.

Swansea remain eager to bolster their wing-back options in the transfer market following the loan arrival of Matty Sorinola from Union SG.

Ogbeta is not expected to be included in the matchday squad for Swansea's Championship opener at Rotherham United this Saturday, July 30. Kick-off in Yorkshire is at 3pm.

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