Swansea Sign Third New Player This Week

Swansea’s summer transfer business is now in full swing with the announcement of their third new signing in less than a week. After masterminding survival for The Swans last season when at one point it looked very unlikely, manager Paul Clement is being rewarded with funds to make sure that the club is not caught up in another relegation scrap next time around.

After the capture of England Under 21 international Tammy Abraham on a season long loan from Premier League champions Chelsea at the start of the week, business was stepped up yesterday when Roque Mesa joined from Las Palmas on a four year deal and a fee of £11m.

Mesa was believed to have turned down the sunnier climates of Atletico Madrid to come to South Wales but it is fair to say that their third signing this week has come from somewhere much colder. That is because they have added a member of the Icelandic Gudjohnsen Empire to their ranks.

16 year old Arnor Gudjohnsen has joined the club from Icelandic club Breidablik after undergoing a trial with the Premier League outfit. Arnor is the half brother of former Chelsea, Barcelona and Tottenham forward Eidar and the footballing heritage does not end there.

As his father of the same name won 73 caps for the Icelandic national side, not only that but this family also shares the accolade of Eidur once replacing Arnor Snr as a substitute while on international duty, that was back in 1996 when Eidur was just 17 at the time.

That bodes well for his younger brother as if his career takes the same rapid trajectory then he himself could also be representing the full national side soon. In regards to his new club career, Swansea will not perhaps feel the benefit straight away as he is to link up with their Under 23 side first.

They will however feel the benefit of Tammy Abraham from the off as he has been bolster in what was an under performing attacking unit last season. Fernando Llorente is the only forward to come away with any real credit from the previous campagin while compatriot Borja Baston’s future looks up in the air.

And with that in mind Abraham will be charged with continuing the form that helped Bristol City avoid the drop from the EFL Championship, the player who missed a penalty in the Semi Final shooutout against Germany found the net on 23 occasions and that tally drew the attention of many top flight clubs this summer.

For the player it will allow him to continue his development as the fear would have been that his progress could have been halted, although with Chelsea’s thin attacking personnel right now there is no reason why he could not do a job for Antonio Conte this time around.

Be that as it may though it is Swansea in which he will call home for the next 10 months or so and he does so safe in the knowledge that he has signed a new 5 year deal at Stamford Bridge. To sign a new contract and then get loaned out on the same day is slightly surprising but it does say that Chelsea have high hopes for him.

High hopes for the future but not just right now, Abraham’s career trajectory is on the upward curve and if he can get into double figures in terms of Premier League goals then the sky is very much the limit for the 19 year old. It is without doubt a signing that Swansea fans can be excited about.

Abraham will link up with his England Under 21 teammate Alfie Mawson and if both men can play at a level higher than what their age suggests then Swansea may well not be looking over their shoulder as much next time around, but no matter how well those two the real key could be keeping hold of Gylfi Sigurdsson.

They may have just added an Icelandic player to the club but they need to make sure they keep hold of the one they already have. The club are believed to be asking for £40m and you get the feeling that in this current climate someone will pay that price.

But is he a player that can necessarily be replaced – of course no player is bigger than the club but there is absolutely no underestimating the role that Sigurdsson has played in his second stint at the club after returning from White Hart Lane back to the Liberty Stadium back in 2014.

He has chipped in with 34 goals in 121 top flight appearances which is just under a goal every three matches and was an ever present last season as his 9 strikes made huge strides in making sure the South Wales outfit eventually beat the drop to the EFL Championship.

If Swansea were to get £40m for the signature of the Icelandic international Sigurdsson then that would be a very tidy profit but Swansea do not need to worry about improving their balance sheet they need to improve their fortunes on the pitch. Fortunes that would be better with the 27 year old in their squad.