Russell Martin is hopeful that Swansea City will bring in some recruits early on in the summer transfer window.
The Swans are expecting yet another hefty squad turnaround following the conclusion of the 2021/22 campaign, with several stars due to leave and further incomings required. Goalkeeper Ben Hamer will move on when his contract expires, and the same applies to several others, including Yan Dhanda.
Speaking ahead of the clash with Nottingham Forest, Martin confirmed Ryan Bennett has been told he can leave the Swans this summer. The defender has not featured since the 5-1 loss to Fulham and has been left out of the last 10 matchday squads.
He has one year left to run on his current contract, and any sum collected for the former Wolves man will be a bonus, although it's understood the 32-year-old is one of the club's better earners. Shifting him off the wage bill will no doubt help the financial situation at the club.
It's also understood Korey Smith will leave the Swans in the near future. The central midfielder has been a key figure under Martin this term, although it is expected the ex-Bristol City man will be available on a free transfer ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.
Swansea have the possibility to negotiate a second loan for Finley Burns, although the Manchester City defender has made just three appearances for the club since moving to south Wales in January. Then there are the two other men currently in on loan.
Martin is keen to keep both Cyrus Christie and Hannes Wolf at the club, although finances are likely to make deals difficult. Christie's Fulham contract expires this summer, although it's understood the Cottagers have a one-year option in the deal for the Republic of Ireland international which complicates matters as far as the Swans are concerned.
As for Wolf, he has thoroughly enjoyed his time at the Swansea.com Stadium so far and is thought to be keen on extending his stay with the club. However, the Austrian will have just 12 months left on his deal at Borussia Mönchengladbach when he returns to the German club next month.
It means the Bundesliga outfit have a big decision to make. Do they hand Wolf fresh terms and let him leave on loan or cash in on him now while his stock is higher? You can read more on Wolf's future here.
Which player(s) do you expect to leave Swansea in the summer? Have your say in our comments section here.
Beyond that, there are the out-on-loan players to consider. Steven Benda will no doubt want to move on given that he is unlikely to oust Andy Fisher from the starting line-up. Others such as Morgan Whittaker and Jordon Garrick have benefitted from their spells at Lincoln City and Plymouth Argyle respectively and do not appear to be in Martin's immediate plans at present. The same applies to Liam Walsh who has struggled at Hull City and could be offloaded in the near future.
Ollie Cooper is highly thought of by the coaching staff at Swansea while Lewis Webb and Dan Williams will remain with Shelbourne and Dundalk respectively for the majority of 2022. Decisions will also need to be made on Brandon Cooper, Liam Cullen and Jay Fulton, although their situations could depend heavily on what happens elsewhere.
Then there are the dreaded sales to take into account. Swansea realistically have to offload a big name this summer to balance the books, and there are two key contenders. Top scorer Joel Piroe and midfield kingpin Flynn Downes are expected to attract interest.
Leicester City have been monitoring Piroe while Leeds United have been credited with showing an interest in Downes. Swansea would want between £15m and £20m for Dutchman Piroe, who now has 24 goals this season following his brace against Bournemouth. Martin recently stated it will take a "huge sum" for a club to recruit Piroe - who has two years left to run on his contract. You can read more on that here.
As for Downes, he could easily command a fee in the region of £8m to £10m. Michael Obafemi, Matt Grimes and Ben Cabango are among those who could catch the eye of rival clubs too, so it's looking like being yet another manic transfer window for the Swans.
The hope is that they can get some deals over the line early in the window which will give them the best chance of starting next season well. But exits will largely dictate exactly what the Swans can do over the course of the coming months, as the head coach himself admits.
"It's going to depend on people leaving, I think the ones we will end up doing early, or try to do early, will be free signings," explained head coach Martin. "The ones that will maybe cost money will take some money being brought back in first, whether that's players leaving or getting a fee for someone.
"Loan signings we'll try and minimise. But if we are going to have a couple, they need to make a real impact like Cyrus and Hannes have done really. They're often left a bit later because clubs want to assess them in their pre-season like we will do with some of our young lads.
"We'll just have to wait and see. I do expect us to do a couple of bits early. That will predominantly be, I expect, the best three options that are out there for us because we have identified a few."
A huge summer lies ahead, but following a strong end to Martin's debut campaign at the club, fans will retain their faith that the team can continue to develop under the current coaching staff, regardless of the make-up of the personnel of the pitch.
