These are your Swansea City headlines on Friday, May 27.
Christie opens up on Fulham exit
Cyrus Christie admits he wishes certain aspects of his time with Fulham were better following his release from the club.
The Republic of Ireland international made just one appearance for Marco Silva's side in the opening half of the 2021/22 season before joining Swansea on loan in January. Christie played a key role under Russell Martin, featuring 23 times and scoring three goals for the Swans.
Having secured promotion into the Premier League, the Cottagers let Christie go for nothing following the expiration of his contract, meaning he is now a free agent. The Swans are keen to sign the 29-year-old on a permanent basis, with Christie himself admitting he would like to return to south Wales.
And following the end of his Fulham career, Christie has opened up on his struggles with the Londoners.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time as a Fulham player,” he told the club's official website. “There have been a lot of ups and downs, but that’s part of the journey.
“Things happen and there’s stuff you can’t control, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time there and met some great people, and the club as a whole was amazing.
“Obviously I would have liked certain moments to have gone better than they did. It didn’t work out that way, but I’ve got a lot of fond memories to look back on, especially the two promotions which were great occasions for the club and everyone involved.
“It was a pity it didn’t work out the way we envisaged and the way that I imagined, but that’s part and parcel of football and I just want to say thank you to everyone."
READ MORE: Swansea City contracts and mass exodus reveals true scale of Russell Martin's massive rebuild
Sunderland to offer previous Swans target fresh terms
Sunderland are planning to offer Ross Stewart a new contract amid transfer interest from Championship clubs.
The striker was pivotal in the Black Cats' promotion from League One, with his tally of 26 in 53 games in all competitions making him their top scorer last term. Russell Martin is understood to be an admirer of the frontman.
However, having beaten Wycombe Wanderers in the play-off final at Wembley last weekend to clinch Championship football for next season, Alex Neil's side are hoping to improve Stewart's terms at the Stadium of Light, according to the Sunderland Echo.
The club's sporting director Kristjaan Speakman said: "Ross has had an incredible season so for us, we’re always trying to protect players like that who have performed so well and naturally, you want to try and reward players.
"It gives inspiration to other people as well [to perform] and you want to keep that cycle going. You want that culture at the club."
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Bodin praises young goalkeeper
Paul Bodin praised Lewis Webb for taking the opportunity to leave Swansea on loan earlier this year.
The Welsh goalkeeper joined Shelbourne for the duration of the 2022 League of Ireland Premier Division campaign. He is currently on international duty with Wales' Under-21s for their Euro 2023 qualifiers against the Netherlands and Gibraltar in June.
And head coach Bodin could not hide his delight with Webb's attitude as he bids to turn out for his country once again.
"Webby's such a nice gentleman," Bodin told WalesOnline. "What an honest, down to earth young man he is. I watched him at Newport many years ago, he got released and ended up going to Merthyr. He did fantastically well in the first team there and then got a great move to Swansea.
"The trouble is, with goalkeepers, first-team squads have three or four goalkeepers and then the academy have a number of goalkeepers and you could be a good training goalkeeper, but you don't play games. That's what was happening with Webby at Swansea.
"So he took the plunge went out on loan and had a good start but unfortunately he hasn't quite played as many games as he would have liked to over recent months. It'll be great for him to come back and join this quality group of players, get the belief back in him and hopefully he'll play a big part over the two difficult games we've got coming up."
Webb is the only Swansea player to feature in Wales' Under-21 squad, with Dan Williams and Brandon Cooper both unavailable due to injury. "Brandon Cooper is a big miss for us," added Bodin. "Our captain, he went on loan to Swindon and picked up a knee injury so he's been out of the last couple of camps."
Chivers adds to trophy cabinet
Chloe Chivers won the Adran Genero League goal of the season for her strike against Cardiff City.
The 23-year-old excelled for Swansea City Ladies last term and played a starring role as Chris Church's side clinched the league title for the third seasons running. And her goal against the Bluebirds earned her the goal of the season prize.
Speaking about the stunning strike, Chivers said: “I just hit it to be honest, I saw the sight of goal and hit it, but obviously to beat Cardiff at home in a 4-1 win and get a goal was brilliant.”
It comes after Chivers won the supporters' player of the season and goalscorer of the season awards earlier this month. (The full list of awards winners are available here.)
Elsewhere, Stacey John-Davis and Claire Skinner won the league's golden boot and golden glove awards respectively.
