These are your Swansea City headlines on Tuesday, November 1.
Whittaker's rise and rise
What a season Morgan Whittaker is having for Plymouth Argyle.
The Pilgrims are top of the pile in League One after 17 games, winning four out of the last five with a four-point gap over Ipswich Town opening up.
They saw off Exeter City 4-2 on Monday night, with Whittaker grabbing the equaliser and notching up an assist in the Devonshire derby.
READ MORE: Scotland camp details emerge, 'dangerous duo' want more and Martin contract latest
The 21-year-old now has seven goals for the campaign and our colleagues at PlymouthLive believe he is one of the best players in the division.
Handing him a nine out of 10 score for his display, they wrote: "Must surely be regarded as one of their best players in League One. He scored with one well-taken goal to make it 1-1 and then came up with two excellent assists for Ryan Hardie as Argyle wrapped up their hard-fought win."
Boss Steven Schumacher said: “[It was] an unbelievable touch-and-finish from Morgan, Bali (Mumba) produces a worldie, and Ryan Hardie comes off the bench, doesn’t moan, and looks a real threat when he gets on the pitch. The two chances that he had, he despatched them perfectly.”
Sanson gets 'fresh start'
Morgan Sanson, recently linked with a move to Swansea, has been handed a "fresh start" at Aston Villa following the sacking of Steven Gerrard.
Our colleagues at BirminghamLive report he is training with the first-team squad and remains "firmly in the first-team picture at Bodymoor", with Unai Emery now the man in charge at Villa Park.
They write: "A penny for the thoughts of Morgan Sanson and Marvelous Nakamba off the back of Gerrard’s dismissal last week knowing the pair were simply not fancied under the previous head coach. Both Sanson and Nakamba remain firmly in the first-team picture at Bodymoor and will be hopeful of a clean slate under Emery from next week onwards.
"After Newcastle, the midfielders will have three fixtures - vs Manchester United (twice) and Brighton - and plenty of training sessions under Emery and his new coaching staff to stake their claim prior to the World Cup break. It’s a fresh start for both of them. Frederic Guilbert’s future, though, remains unclear with the Frenchman still training with the under-21s."
Championship rivals Sunderland were also said to be interested, along with sides in France.
Get your brilliant 48-page Wales at the World Cup preview special
Gilly - we want strong finish
Assistant head coach Matt Gill says Swansea want to head into the World Cup break in as strong a position as possible.
Swansea have four games in 11 days before the season halts for the tournament in Qatar, meaning there will be little respite.
Gill, though, says he has been impressed with the intensity shown in recent weeks. “It is a really important period and we want to go into the break in as strong a position as possible,” he said.
“We have to continue the performance levels, and if we do that we will get the outcome we deserve if the performances are right.
“We felt on Saturday (against Bristol City) we fell below where we have been in that early part of the game, and we need to get back to those levels and we need to continue to be prepared to be ourselves home and away.
“This period is a tough one, but we need to keep approaching every game the same this season.
“I can’t recall any period quite like this as a player. I don’t think I could have coped with this during my time playing!
“The intensity the lads have shown has been tremendous and when that dips a little bit from what we want, we know how important it is to maybe use the squad and freshen things up.
“It’s four games in less than two weeks and we need the right intensity and if a change of personnel is needed then the gaffer will do that.
“The lads have really embraced this period, as have the staff, and we just need to make sure we can enjoy the World Cup break having finished off well over these final four games.”
Boxing Day clash and others moved
Swansea's away-day clash at Reading has been chosen for Sky Sports coverage - and pushed back a day.
Russell Martin's men will now head to the Select Car Leasing Stadium for a 5.15pm kick-off on December 27 instead of a 3pm Boxing Day start time.
The change of date for that match means Swansea’s home festive fixtures against Watford and Burnley have also seen their details changed.
The clash with the Hornets at the Swansea.com Stadium has moved from 7.45pm on Thursday, December 29 to the same kick-off time on Friday, December 30.
The game against the Clarets in SA1 will no longer be at 3pm on Sunday, January 1, it will instead take place at 3pm on Monday, January 2.
READ MORE:
