Your Swansea City headlines on Thursday, January 12.
Whittaker to miss Sunderland
Morgan Whittaker will not travel with Swansea for their Championship clash with Sunderland amid transfer interest in the striker.
The 22-year-old excelled in the first half of the season on loan with Plymouth Argyle, scoring nine goals and chalking up seven assists for the League One leaders.
READ MORE: Swansea City reject Burnley bids for Michael Obafemi as Morgan Whittaker offer knocked back
However, he was prematurely recalled from his stint with the Pilgrims earlier this month, and Swansea have since turned down an offer for Whittaker following his return to the Swansea.com Stadium.
As a result of the transfer interest in the former Derby County man, Russell Martin confirmed Whittaker would not be involved in the Swans' league clash with Tony Mowbray's men at the Stadium of Light this weekend.
"I think it's quite some way short at the moment," said Martin on the bid received for Whittaker. "With that in mind, Morgan is probably not going to be involved at the weekend because, we had a good chat yesterday, with that looming over his head, we need to see where that's going to go.
"We don't want this to drag on to next week and cost him another opportunity to play. If he gets on the pitch for one minute for us, he then can't go to that club.
"If we're in negotiations or if a club has bid, it would be crazy for everyone (for Swansea to play him).
"I've been really pleased with him since he's come back. He's trained really well and it's obvious that the loan has been of huge benefit for him.
"I presume that's why the bid has come in now, before the weekend so that it can start a discussion. Hopefully that'll be resolved very quickly in one way or the other, for Morgan's sake and for ours."
Burnley sent clear Obafemi message
Russell Martin says Swansea City are in no need to sell Michael Obafemi on the cheap amid transfer interest from Burnley.
The Swans have already rejected two bids, understood to be from the Championship leaders, for the services of the Irishman this month.
The highest of those bids is thought to be around £2.5m, a fee which is lower than Swansea's current valuation of the 22-year-old.
And Martin says the Swans will dictate whether or not a player is allowed to leave the club before the January 31 deadline as they look to shake-up their attacking options.
"There are players who will want to move on, but it has to be right for the club," said the head coach.
"I don't think anyone's being forced into selling anyone on the cheap. If the offers don't hit something that is satisfactory for the owners here then they'll still be our players. It's as simple as that."
He went on to add: "I'm pretty sure the club that are interested in him (Obafemi) can pay him more money than we can. We'll just have to wait and see."
Ogbeta to secure loan exit
Nathanael Ogbeta is set to leave Swansea City on loan, WalesOnline understands.
The defender joined the Swans from Shrewsbury Town in January last year but has been unable to force his way into Russell Martin's first team plans.
Indeed, the former Manchester City academy player arrived in south Wales with a hamstring injury, and he made just two Championship appearances for the club in the latter stages of the 2021/22 campaign.
He is yet to feature for Swansea in the league this term, with his sole appearance for the club this season coming in the Carabao Cup clash with Oxford United in August.
Two League One sides have shown a strong interest in the versatile left-back, and the 21-year-old is now understood to be on the brink of securing a temporary switch to the third tier of English football.
READ MORE: Swansea City make multiple bids for unnamed player as duo remain on radar
Sunderland starlet's key Swans message
Trai Hume has urged his Sunderland team-mates to try to dominate the ball when they host Swansea this weekend.
The Swans won the reverse fixture 2-1 courtesy of a fine first-half display which featured goals from Ollie Cooper and Harry Darling.
However, the Black Cats improved in the second-half and pulled a goal back through Jack Clarke, although they were unable to rescue a point from the contest at the Swansea.com Stadium.
But full-back Hume is confident that, with striker Ross Stewart now back involved, that Sunderland can look to control proceedings against Russell Martin's troops at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.
"Well, the last time we played them, the first-half I thought they passed the ball really well and they basically ran the first-half," Hume said. "Coming out in the second-half, we started getting into the game.
"It was Jack Clarke who scored and we didn't have any strikers at the time. So it's going to be a big difference and obviously having big Ross [Stewart] back so hopefully at home we can dominate the ball the way they tried to do, pressing from the front."
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