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Tom Coleman

The winners and losers from Swansea City's transfer window as Middlesbrough man brilliant and the one who got away

The dust has settled on the summer transfer window, which once again saw a flurry of activity from Swansea City.

Seven new signings were brought on board, while 13 players moved on to pastures new, and unsurprisingly there were several interesting sub-plots to emerge as Russell Martin attempted to shape a competitive squad for the rest of a gruelling Championship season.

As with any transfer window, there were positives and negatives about how the Swans went about their business. Here's a quick look at some of the key lines from the last few weeks.

READ MORE: Don't Take Me Home - Get the latest Wales football team news sent straight to you

Winners

Russell Martin

We're not even a quarter of the way through the season, and it already feels like Martin is under a bit of pressure. However, he has to be reasonably pleased with how the transfer window panned out.

Yes, they clearly miss the influence of wing-back duo Hannes Wolf and Cyrus Christie, but with seven additions, and Flynn Downes the only significant departure despite interest in Joel Piroe and Michael Obafemi, the squad feels much better placed than it perhaps did at the start of the window.

After a sticky start to the season, keeping his two top strikers was undoubtedly an enormous boost, and the squad has arguably improved in certain areas.

The challenge now is to deliver some more positive results.

Nathan Wood

The defender wasn't a name all that familiar with many Swansea fans, but barring a horrible own goal at home to Millwall, he's settled in brilliantly since his move from Middlesbrough.

Reviews on Teesside were somewhat mixed when he was snapped up at the beginning of the summer, and pointed to a player who had outgrown the under-23s, but hadn't quite managed to make the leap to first-team football under Chris Wilder.

Martin clearly hasn't needed as much convincing, and has long been an admirer of the 20-year-old, recently admitting he spent two years or so tracking him before finally bringing him on board.

It's early days, of course, but the player is already starting to repay some of that faith.

Joe Allen

He's admittedly not quite the same player who was sold to Liverpool for £15m or so 10 years ago, but Joe Allen's Swansea City homecoming was undoubtedly one of the standout stories in Welsh football this summer.

The departure of Downes to West Ham United was enough to pave the way for the much-loved Wales international to seal a return to his boyhood club - a return that has been made for personal, as well as footballing reasons.

Allen turned down the chance to stay on at Stoke City, and even offers from abroad, to complete a return to the Swans, a move that's delighted him nearly as much as it's delighted the Jack Army.

Rotherham United

While there's genuine reason to be positive about the business Swansea managed to get done this summer, there were clearly a few names who slipped through Martin's fingers.

Watching January target Matt O'Riley turning out in the Champions League for Celtic is clearly still slightly painful for some Swans fans. One can't help but wonder if they'll one day have similar feelings about Rotherham's Chiedozie Ogbene.

He was on Martin's radar for much of the summer, but his price tag eventually proved too prohibitive for a move to ever be considered a realistic possibility.

Indeed, despite his contract running out next summer, The Millers dug their heels on over their valuation of the Republic of Ireland international, warding off any potential suitors, including the Swans, who have had to watch on as he's netted four goals in eight games this season.

Losers

Ryan Bennett

The centre-back was a big favourite under Steve Cooper, but his exit has been on the cards for some time.

For one reason or another, there's a feeling that he doesn't quite fit in with Martin's brand of possession-based football, and the former Wolves man was effectively frozen out of first-team contention during the second half of last season.

Clearly the Swans would have preferred to let him go for a fee, particularly in light of interest from Championship rivals Reading earlier in the summer.

However, nothing concrete was forthcoming, and the club instead chose to release him by mutual consent.

He's currently without a club.

Brandon Cooper and Nathanael Ogbeta

Two more players who many expected to be on the move this summer.

Having previously been earmarked as one for the future, Cooper's development was somewhat stunted by knee injury on loan at Swindon Town last season and, with his contract set to expire next summer, he appears to be facing an uncertain future.

It's certainly tricky to see him breaking into Martin's plans any time soon, and many would have perhaps expected him to be loaned out for the season.

Likewise, it appears Ogbeta has slipped away from the first-team picture, but is now set to stay for the next three months at least.

Dan Williams

The midfielder will have been frustrated to see his loan spell at Irish side Dundalk ended prematurely by an ankle injury last term, but he's still held in high regard by club insiders.

Indeed, he impressed his boss during the Carabao Cup clashes against Reading and Plymouth last season.

He has since moved to The New Saints in the Cymru Premier, and it feels like too much of a step down for a player of his abilities.

Yes, the quality of the Welsh domestic pyramid has come on leaps and bounds in recent years, but many will understandably feel it's still nowhere near the calibre necessary to develop a player with such potential.

Then again, it seemed to work out for Ben Cabango...

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