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Tom Coleman

Russell Martin reveals what new investment would mean for Swansea City and gives update on Latibeaudiere talks

Swansea City boss Russell Martin hopes fresh investment in the club will give the club more financial muscle this summer, but isn't expecting a bumper transfer war chest when the window re-opens.

Reports across the Atlantic have claimed a trio of US-based businessmen are set to pump in as much as £10m into the club, in a move that's clearly been in the pipeline for some time.

Martin is confident it will spell good news for the club's long-term financial sustainability, but isn't sure what sort of impact, if any, it will have on his transfer plans.

READ MORE: Trio of American investors to pump £10m into Swansea City, say US reports

Quizzed specifically on the move, he added: "I understand they're very close [to completing a deal] and they've been talking for a while. All of this stuff takes a lot of due diligence but I don't know an awful lot beyond that, to be honest.

"I know that people have been wanting to invest and have been around the club and looked at the club. They've met with the people here to see what they've invested in and they're really good guys. But I don't know when it will happen or how much.

"I'm sure once it's all resolved and everything's sorted, I would presume there will be a list of things that they want to get done."

Among the priorities this summer will be a resolution on Martin's future, with his contract set to expire at the end of next season.

"I'm quite relaxed about it," he added. "I've said before that I'd love to stay. But I don't make that choice. I hope we've done enough to show people we can be trusted to look and care for the team and the club and the people in it.

"We do really care and we work extremely hard. I think that's all you ever want from someone when they're the custodian of your team. We're all in. All in on the style of play. We're developing the culture we have and hopefully if that's deemed good enough for someone to want us to stay then great."

Martin will likely be keen on setting some transfer plans into motion sooner rather than later, with Rotherham's Chiedozie Ogbene among the players he's known to admire.

But he's not expecting any fresh investment to have much of an impact on his transfer plans.

"I don't think the scope will change a huge amount because the club wants to be sustainable and do things in a sustainable way. Developing our own talent will be a huge part of that," he added.

"I don't think this club at this moment in time will ever be able to go out and splash millions of pounds on players and all of sudden pay ridiculous wages compared to what everyone else is getting paid. The club's worked so hard to develop a structure that is sustainable and doesn't put the club in financial jeopardy.

"I don't know the ins and outs of it but of course it will help the club."

Meanwhile, Martin remains hopeful the club can find a resolution on Joel Latibeaudiere's contract, and has suggested there could be some movement once the fresh investment is confirmed.

The 23-year-old's contract is up at the end of the season, and he's already insisted he's keen to stay at the club after some candid comments this week.

"We're really not far apart," Martin said when asked for the latest on the defender's future. "It's really close to meeting in the middle, which to me would make real sense. But I'm not in charge of the finance. I just talk about how much I want the player and the person involved with us.

"Hopefully it's not got to move a huge amount because of the boy's commitment to what we're doing and how much he's been involved for us and how much he's played. Hopefully it will be something fairly simple and something we can crack on with.

"I think everything's been put on hold a little bit because of that [the investment]. When you know what you have financially it makes everything a lot easier.

"Hopefully with a bit of clarity on that we can have clarity on situations going forward that will make it easier for everyone."

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