Everton striker Ellis Simms was rumoured to be in Swansea last week.
A photo was doing the rounds on social media purporting to show Simms in the city. Its veracity, at this stage, remains unclear.
The 22-year-old appears to have a number of suitors this summer; he spent a successful first portion of last season on loan with Sunderland, making 17 appearances before being recalled by the Toffees in January. He then featured 11 times during the second half of 2022/23 for the Goodison Park outfit, though only two of those were starts.
Our colleagues at the Liverpool Echo state that Sean Dyche's side have an "important decision" to make over the future of the youngster.
New Swans boss Michael Duff was asked about him on Saturday. So let's have a look at the situation....
Everton's asking price and Piroe factor
The Times report that the Toffees will look for somewhere in the region of £7million to £10million for the striker. That's some fee.
Although Paul Watson and Andy Coleman said last week that the club had money to spend, a splurge of that value on one player seems fanciful in the extreme for Swansea.
One could consider the Joel Piroe factor here, with WalesOnline understanding Everton are one of the teams who have enquired about the Dutchman. Swap deals are extremely rare in this day and age but if lines of communication are open between the two clubs, who knows.
Piroe has one year to go on his SA1 contract and Swansea will more than likely cash in this summer to avoid losing the 23-year-old for free. If Everton value Simms at the upper price of £10million - who also has 12 months left on his current deal - what price should Swansea demand for a striker who has surpassed 20 goals in his last two seasons? Food for thought.
Who's interested?
Along with Swansea, Sunderland, Coventry City and Ipswich Town have been credited with interest.
Simms spent the first half of last season on loan at the Stadium of Light and impressed manager Tony Mowbray, who would, judging by his past comments, love to re-sign him
“Ellis Simms, if he comes back will be huge for this football club, because he gives us a focal point at the front end of the pitch,” he said earlier this year. “He scored some massively important goals before he was recalled to Everton.”
Tractor Boys boss Kieran McKenna was tight-lipped when asked about Simms at the weekend. “It’s not our place to speak about any players that aren’t ours,” he told the East Anglian Daily Times. “There’s lots of speculation at this time of year - a lot of it incorrect. We certainly won’t comment until anything is further down the line.”
Duff took the same stance as McKenna on Saturday, declining to comment on Swansea’s links with the forward.
"If we get involved with every player... I was up at a quarter past five this morning from Spain and I do want to go and see my family at some point. Josh (Marsh) is in the building on Monday, so that’s a different conversation because there’s thousands of names," he said. "So without being rude, it’s pointless me commenting. If it gets to the point where someone is walking in the door for a medical on Monday I'll have the conversation."
Duff did say, though, they would need to bring in a striker this summer, even if Piroe ends up staying at the club.
“There is already a decent platform to build on, now it is about adding some different detail," he added. "We need to look at the squad and improve around the edges of the pitch. I don’t think that observation is going to blow the mind of any of the supporters.
“Even if Joel Piroe stays, we probably need to add to our strikers. If he does go, then we will definitely need to add some more. There is lots of plate spinning for every different scenario.
“It’s not that we have to play with two up front, we need to be flexible. I’ve watched the games from the end of last season when they went to four at the back and their possession went down by 10%, from 70-60%, but they still won more of their games. That’s just one observation looking in from the outside."
The Sky Blues' interest is an interesting one; they are set to lose former Swansea loan man Viktor Gyokeres to Sporting CP this summer for a fee of around £18.5million, meaning they will be well set financially to structure a deal for Simms, should they pursue a deal.
What's Sean Dyche said?
Not a great deal, in truth. It was Frank Lampard who decided to recall Simms from the Black Cats but the manager was let go shortly afterwards and it was Dyche who handed Simms his big break away at Chelsea - a game in which the youngster scored the vital equaliser.
Dyche hasn't said too much about Simms' future but has outlined his qualities - and where he needs to improve.
"He’s still got a lot to improve," Dyche said in the aftermath of that match at Stamford Bridge. "He came up in the week actually and asked me ‘what do you think?’ I said: ‘Well. What do you think?’ He gave me four things and I said ‘you are right’.
"It’s taking action. These players know the things they have got to do, it is just a strange situation and they need guidance, someone to say ‘yeah you are right so therefore take ownership and do it’. I thought [the Chelsea game] was a good sign of that, of the difference in his physicality. He is quick, he is strong and he used it.
"You can’t just wait for people to allow you to use it, you can’t just wait to mature as a player, you have to earn it, you have to go and work at your game.
"We started him at Liverpool, he found it too tough but it was a great learning curve and I said he would learn from it. He’s training with the first team all the time and he has learned from that. I’m not over-egging it with him, it’s letting the environment teach him.
"And then he comes on and gets his reward for working hard and fighting hard. There’s other things he can do better. The physical side of things seemed a challenge for him and I said ‘well that has got to change’. The game tells you what you need from it physically… But it’s great signs for a young player who has got the freedom to come out at Stamford Bridge, join in and create a fine finish and a fine moment for the team and the fans.”
