Your Swansea City headlines for Monday, July 11.
Black Cats in Tottenham talks over Parrott
Sunderland are in talks with Tottenham Hotspur over a potential loan deal for Troy Parrott.
The Black Cats are eager to bolster their attacking options ahead of their return to the Championship and have identified Spurs ace Parrott as a potential target, according to The Northern Echo. Swansea had been linked with a move for the 20-year-old - who joined Russell Martin's former club MK Dons on loan last summer.
However, a source indicated to WalesOnline that Parrott was not on the club's radar. Parrott is currently with parent club Tottenham on their pre-season tour of South Korea.
Allen injury update
Russell Martin says Joe Allen will not be rushed back into action as he continues to recover from injury.
The midfielder sustained a hamstring problem during Wales' Nations League clash with Belgium last month but is now close to being available to feature in a small capacity. The 32-year-old trained with the Football Association of Wales prior to his return to Swansea and is now stepping up his pre-season regime ahead of the Championship opener at Rotherham United on July 30.
And head coach Martin says Allen will be carefully eased back into the fold following his return to the club. "I'm as excited as anyone that Joe has come back," Martin told SwansTV. "Seeing how happy he is at being back has been great. He watched the game today [Forest Green Rovers] and he's done his running.
"I'm really impressed by the condition he's in, he's been training with the FAW. It's just about building him up, it's such a long season plus he has the World Cup to be aware of in November.
"For us to rush him back and be ready for the first game to play 90 minutes would be madness really. He's going to be there or thereabouts but it's about taking it day by day."
Downes example cited
Russell Martin has challenged his young Swansea players to follow in the footsteps of Flynn Downes by making it to the Premier League.
Downes joined the Swans last summer for £1.4m from Ipswich Town but joined West Ham United last week for £9m in a deal that could be worth up to £14m with add-ons. It comes after what was an impressive season for the Englishman who established himself as a key figure under the current coaching staff.
And while Martin admits the dream is to reach the top flight together, he was quick to use Downes as an example that players can reach the highest level if they fully buy in to his methods.
"With Flynn going and Joe coming straight away, it shows we're prepared," Martin explained. "Flynn goes with everyone's best wishes, I absolutely love the kid. We're all so pleased for him.
"We're disappointed to lose one of our top performers from last season, but at the same time you have to be realistic. The club got a really good sum of money for him, a really good return on the investment and he goes with everyone's best wishes.
"He's got a dream move for him. I said to the guys, the utopia for us is we all get there together, but, if not, if you have the same approach as Flynn, be it you come here with no ego and a willingness to work, be brave to try and be fearless in what you're doing, then the rewards are there for these young men."
New Ladies' coach awaits Champions League test
Ceri Phillips says he's eagerly awaiting Swansea City Ladies' Champions League campaign.
The Swans face 17-time Greek A Division winners AC PAOK in the first round of the competition on August 18, with the winner facing either Rangers or Ferencvarosi TC in the round one final three days later.
And fresh from his appointment as assistant to head coach Jon Beale, Phillips - who also works in the Swansea City AFC Foundation as Premier League Primary Stars coordinator - says the Ladies side will ramp up their preparations for the Champions League campaign over the coming weeks.
“I’m excited for [the Champions League], it’s obviously going to come with many challenges but we’re starting to put the groundwork in now in terms of the opposition we are going to be coming up against,” Phillips told the club website.
“We’re just working through our final fitness-based sessions and then we’ll be able to crank it up a notch and go into the tactical side of things as we start to prepare for what we envisage to be a tough summer ahead.”
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