Your Swansea City headlines for Thursday, July 14.
Former Swans starlet tipped for Swindon move
Cameron Evans is closing in on a move to Swindon Town.
The defender was released by Swansea this summer having made just one first team appearance for the club, with that coming against Stevenage in the FA Cup third round in January last year. He has been training with Swindon of late as he is a free agent.
READ MORE: Why Swansea City have played most pre-season games behind closed doors
And he is now expected to sign a permanent deal with the Robins, according to Football Insider. Scott Lindsey's side have had current Swans Brandon Cooper, Jordon Garrick and Steven Benda on loan in recent seasons.
Evans - who is the younger brother of former Swan Jack Evans - spent the duration of 2021 on loan with League of Ireland Premier Division side Waterford. The Welshman made 35 appearances in all competitions for the Irish side.
Versatility key for Darling
Harry Darling believes Swansea's pre-season work will help them adapt to difficult situations during the 2022/23 campaign.
The Swans have been trying out a number of different formations on the training ground and have put them to practice during the course of their summer fixtures. As part of the work, players have also been tasked with operating in various roles.
And summer signing Darling - who joined for a fee of £1.4m from Russell Martin's former club MK Dons - is confident that the Swans won't be predictable as a result of the systems they have been trying out.
"Things are going well. Pre-season is not something anyone enjoys, with the work on the fitness side, but I am feeling good and it was good to have more of a run-out," he told the club website.
“I feel I have settled really well here, I have played together (with Nathan Wood and Kyle Naughton) quite a bit over the last few weeks and we are getting to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, which is all you can ask for in pre-season.
“We want to make sure that when it comes to the start of the season we are ready to play well and win games. I think that is going to be key, it ensures we are not predictable and means we have those options of playing in different formations.
“It can only be an advantage for us and hopefully it can keep teams guessing, we are working hard to make sure we can perform to a high level when we use those different options.”
SIGN-UP: Get the latest Swansea City news and stories into your inbox every day for FREE!
Cabango boost
Ben Cabango is set to step up his recovery from an ankle injury by returning to training with his Swansea team-mates this week.
The Welshman missed his side's final two games of the 2021/22 campaign following a challenge from former Swan Jamal Lowe during the 3-3 draw with Bournemouth. Cabango underwent surgery to repair the issue, meaning he was unavailable for Wales' five June fixtures - including the 1-0 World Cup play-off final win over Ukraine.
He has been working to his own training regime in recent weeks but is now set to link up with the rest of the squad, with Martin admitting the centre-back could play a small role in the pre-season clash with Charlton Athletic later this month.
"He's good. He's on the grass again now," Martin said after the clash with Plymouth Argyle. "He's got Joe [Allen] to push him along, our two Welsh speakers, although Joe didn't know he spoke Welsh so Ben's kept that very quiet. I think Joe can now push him into media duties when they're away with Wales!
"He's coming along really nicely. He had no real work into him so it's about getting him into a condition where he can come and train with us fully and not risk injury. It's like a mini pre-season for Ben now.
"He'll be back training with the group by the end of this week, modified training and still doing conditioning. I expect him to be with us for the Charlton game hopefully, all being well.
"He's in unbelievable physical shape. He's made a real effort, they all have. I don't like to put exact time scales on it, but I expect him to be in and around it for the first game [Rotherham] fingers crossed.
WIN: Your chance to win the new 2022/2023 Swansea City home shirt
Congreve earns new deal
Cameron Congreve has signed a contract extension to remain with Swansea until the summer of 2025.
It comes just four months after he earned his first professional deal with the club, a contract that was due to expire in 2024. The Swans also hold the option to extend his new deal by a further 12 months.
It typifies what has been a remarkable period for the young Welshman who made five Championship appearances under Russell Martin in the latter stages of the 2021/22 campaign.
Swans duo backed to shine
Joel Piroe and Michael Obafemi are being tipped to shine in the Championship next season.
Piroe excelled in his debut campaign at Swansea, scoring 24 times after leaving PSV Eindhoven last summer. Obafemi endured a tough start to life in south Wales after joining from Southampton but netted 11 of his 12 goals last season in 2022.
And bookmakers have taken note of the pair's efforts. Piroe is the 9/1 joint-second favourite alongside Blackburn Rovers forward Ben Brereton Diaz to finish as the Championship's top scorer next term. As for Obafemi, he is the 16/1 joint-fifth favourite along with Emmanuel Dennis, Jay Rodriguez and Karlan Grant to be the top marksman in the second tier.
Norwich City's Teemu Pukki is the 7/1 favourite with Sky Bet to finish at the summit of the scoring charts.
READ NEXT:
