Out-of-contract Swans players 'know where they stand'
Luke Williams says his out-of-contract players “know where they stand” going into Swansea City’s final game of the season against Millwall.
Joe Allen, Kyle Naughton, Jamie Paterson, Liam Walsh and Przemyslaw Placheta are all due to become free agents next month.
They could therefore be bidding farewell to the Swansea.com Stadium on Saturday lunchtime, when six loan players will definitely say goodbye before returning to their parent clubs.
Discussions have been held with Allen, Naughton, Paterson, Walsh and Placheta – although some negotiations over potential new deals are ongoing.
“We are nearly there now with a lot of things,” Swansea head coach Williams said.
“Let’s concentrate on the game against Millwall and then plenty of things are going to be released to everybody to understand.
“We have one or two who are still negotiating, but everyone knows where they stand and that’s the key thing.”
Of the loan players, Swansea look unlikely to make moves to re-sign Harrison Ashby, Charlie Patino, Charles Sagoe Jr or Bashir Humphreys given that they have struggled for game-time this season.
But Williams is an admirer of forward Jamal Lowe, who has scored 10 goals during his year-long loan from Bournemouth, and goalkeeper Carl Rushworth, a star performer since arriving on a season-long deal from Brighton.
“At the moment the guys will be returning to their clubs and potentially, somewhere down the line, we may see one or two of those guys again,” Williams said.
Williams suggested last month that a second loan move for Rushworth looked unlikely, but he now says there is still “hope” that the England Under-21 international could return.
“He has had a brilliant time here - you can never underestimate being loved by a football club,” Williams said.
“You can feel incredible, like the best player in the world, and then you go to another club and think you wished you’d stayed where you were.”
