Your Swansea City headlines for Tuesday, July 19.
Allen's added Premier League motivation
Joe Allen is determined to help Swansea get back to the Premier League as he bids to reach 200 top-flight appearances.
The Welshman was part of the Swans squad that secured promotion under Brendan Rodgers 11 years ago, with his first Premier League outing coming in the 4-0 loss to Manchester City on the opening day of the 2011/12 campaign.
He has gone on to amass a total of 199 appearances for Swansea, Liverpool and Stoke City combined in the Premier League, meaning he is just one short of a double century. And Allen says Russell Martin's men need to throw their full weight behind a promotion push this term as they bid to return to the top-flight for the first time since the 2017/18 campaign.
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"It’s a tough one. Expectations can be raised by what you say, so you have to be careful," explained the midfielder. "Almost every team in the Championship will be having these same conversations. The message from me to the boys will be we did it once before and we stayed there for seven years.
"Not too many people expected that of us back then, so it’s worth throwing everything at it. It can be career-defining or life-changing for everyone involved. The hunger seems there, so the signs are promising.
"Let’s hope we can get this club back to the Premier League. It would be a great achievement and another great story. I may be a slightly older player but I also have dreams and aspirations of getting back there. I am also stuck on 199 Premier League games, so the pressure is on this club to help me get there to 200!"
Allen featured 36 times in the Premier League for Swansea and made 91 top-flight appearances for Liverpool. He starred on 72 occasions in the top tier with Stoke City before being relegated with the Potters in 2018.
Starlet's training ground work pays off
Cameron Congreve has been praised after his training ground work paid off during Swansea's pre-season clash with Bristol Rovers.
The academy product has enjoyed a remarkable year to date having been handed his senior debut by Russell Martin at the age of just 18 in addition to signing his first professional deal with the Swans. He recently signed a contract extension with the club to remain at Swansea until 2025, with the Swans holding the option to extend it by an additional 12 months.
Congreve has regularly trained with the first team squad since Martin's arrival last summer and netted in his side's win against Bristol Rovers on Saturday. Now, assistant boss Matt Gill has revealed details of the behind-the-scenes work Congreve has been putting in during the close season.
"It has, making his debut with us last season," he told Swans TV when asked about 2022 being a big year for the youngster. "Coming back and being with us from the off, he deserves everything he gets, Cam. He's a really level-headed lad, he's signed a new contract and signing it off with a goal today was brilliant.
"It was a brilliant finish and it actually comes from bits we've been working on with him around his recovery runs and defensive responsibilities. To then go and get a goal off the back of that should hopefully encourage him to continue doing that defensive stuff."
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Celina closing in on Turkey move
Former Swan Bersant Celina is closing in on a move to Turkish outfit Kasimpasa, according to EADT.
The Kosovan joined Swansea from Manchester City during the 2018 summer transfer window and was a prominent figure under Graham Potter. However, he was unable to nail down a regular starting berth during the Steve Cooper era and left to join Dijon in 2020.
He spent the duration of last season on loan at Ipswich Town, the club he joined temporarily from Man City before his permanent switch to Swansea. But having failed to agree a stay at Portman Road, he is now edging towards a switch to the Süper Lig.
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