Your Swansea City headlines on Monday, January 16.
Transfer latest
Morgan Whittaker is attracting interest from Rangers as Swansea hit something of a brick wall in their pursuit of Chiedozie Ogbene.
Whittaker could join Jamie Paterson and Michael Obafemi in leaving the Swans this month, and it would leave Russell Martin short on forward options.
The Swansea boss has identified Rotherham United's Ogbene as his top target for the winter transfer window while Leeds United frontman Joe Gelhardt is also an option.
But, at the midway stage of the January window, the Swans appear destined to have something of a wait on their hands when it comes to landing any of their targets before the 11pm deadline on January 31.
Obafemi is wanted by Championship leaders Burnley while Paterson is on the radar of hometown club Coventry City.
You can read the full story on Whittaker here while the latest on Ogbene and others is here.
Grimes lauded
Matt Grimes has been described as the best passer of the ball in the Championship.
The Swansea captain played a pivotal role in his side's 3-1 win over Sunderland last time out, with the midfielder's ball over the top for Ryan Manning leading to Joel Piroe's opener.
Indeed, the 28-year-old ended the contest in the north east of England having made 131 passes, more than any other player on the pitch, at an accuracy level of 91.6 per cent.
And pundit Jamie Mackie admitted Russell Martin will have been thrilled to see his side produce the goods in the final third following a dominant showing against the Black Cats after Luke O'Nien's 18th minute dismissal.
"Matt Grimes, he's the best passer of the ball in the Championship in my opinion, he just dictates the game," Mackie said on ITV's EFL highlights show.
"With one less man, Swansea are just going to dominate possession. They do that even if you've got 11 men. It's just a very hard afternoon.
"What will please Russell Martin is that he's gone away from home and he's getting those goals and actually having that end product to go with all of the great work leading up to the box.
"Not a side I'd want to be playing against with 10 men, that's for sure."
Cooper's aim
Ollie Cooper admits he's targeting even more goals after netting for the fifth time this season in Swansea's 3-1 win at Sunderland.
Cooper rifled home in the 78th minute at the Stadium of Light to cap off what was a memorable afternoon for Russell Martin's side - who are now just three points adrift of the play-off places.
And while Sunderland were down to 10 men for the majority of the contest, academy product Cooper says the Swans deserve credit for the way they handled what was a hostile atmosphere in the north east of England.
“It was another good performance at the weekend, and it was great to get another goal, we just need to keep it going," he told the club website.
“I hope there are a few more goals to come, that’s certainly the aim, but the most important thing is the win for the team.
“It’s never easy playing 10 men, the crowd were up after the red card, and you see it so often that teams are disciplined and sit in and make life difficult.
“It’s probably the biggest crowd I have played in front of, but it felt like we handled it well.”
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Goalkeeper's dream loan debut
Archie Matthews was named man-of-the-match on his debut for Oxford City.
The goalkeeper joined the National League South outfit on loan from Swansea last week and made a fine start to life with Ross Jenkins' side.
Matthews saved a penalty and made a string of impressive saves as his side - who were reduced to 10 men - earned a 1-1 draw against Hampton & Richmond.
“I’ve really enjoyed it so far," Matthews told the club's official website. “It was a tough game today, the conditions weren’t great but the lads stuck together and got through it well.
“It’s been really good [to play in the game], I’ve not had the most games this season and it’s part of the reason I’m here to get this experience and enjoyable to get ninety minutes in.
“The lads did really well under the pressure, everyone really dug in and fought for the point so it was really good.
“I’m only a couple of days in so I’ve only got to know the squad briefly but it’s been really good and the team look like a good bunch as well.”
As a result of his debut efforts for Oxford City, Matthews was named as the goalkeeper in the National League Paper's team of the day.
Stoke game rearranged
Swansea's clash with Stoke City will take place next month owing to the Potters' progress in the FA Cup.
The Swans were set to meet the Potters in south Wales on January 28, although the tie has been postponed after Stoke booked their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup - with Swansea hoping to join them in the next phase of the competition by beating Bristol City in a replay.
As a result, the pair will now meet at the Swansea.com Stadium on Tuesday, February 21. Kick-off will be at 7:45pm.
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