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Tom Coleman

Piroe and Downes resolutions plus Allen answer - What needs to happen over the next 30 days at Swansea City

It's exactly 30 days until Swansea City begin their new Championship campaign at Rotherham United, and it still feels like there's some way to go in their summer preparations before a first ball is kicked.

Swansea have already brought four new faces on board in Matthew Sorinola, Harry Darling, Nathan Wood and Wasiri Williams, but there are still plenty of moving parts to their window over the coming weeks.

There's clearly an appetite to bring more new recruits in through the door before that opening game, while there similarly could well be a few players shipped out before the curtain is raised on the new campaign.

READ MORE : Swansea City are moving on to their new priority as transfer stance revealed and interest mounts

Oh, and Russell Martin will also have to ensure the players already in the building are themselves prepared for the season ahead.

The coming weeks could be crucial. Here's what could well be on Russell Martin's in-tray.

Conditioning

Yep. It's that word again.

The timing of Martin's arrival last summer meant he had precious little time to really bring the players up to speed with his methods ahead of last season.

'Conditioning' was a word persistently used throughout his opening campaign in the Swans hotseat. He himself admitted it would take time for his players to get themselves fully up to speed with his high-octane brand of possession-based football.

There have been some hugely positive signs. When it's clicked it's had devastating results, but the dogged insistence on trusting 'the process' did occasionally test the patience of fans last term.

But on the whole, it's a highly attractive brand of football for players, but those lucky enough to be in Martin's plans surely face a heavy summer workload.

Thankfully, the likes of Harry Darling and Matthew Sorinola won't need too much in the way of settling into things given the pair's time under Martin at MK Dons.

Captain Matt Grimes, after previous uncertainty around his future, is also a advocate for Martin's methods, but knows that with a full pre-season, there can be no excuses this time around.

“I feel like people now are seeing what I saw right at the start," he said recently.

“I know this season has been a bit topsy-turvy. There have been some results that have been atrocious and I can only apologise to the people who came to watch because we don’t want to put on performances like that.

“We’re nowhere near the finished article, but if you look how far we’ve come since the Blackburn game and if you give yourself another year or even another season after that.

“I hope that people can see what we’re building here because it is going to be so special.”

The Downes and Piroe conundrum can't drag on

Swansea may well have already made some strong additions to their squad, but their hopes of further new faces appear dependent on the futures of Flynn Downes and Joel Piroe.

Both players are arguably the most valuable assets within this Swans squad, and it's still not yet clear whether either of them will pull on a Swans shirt again.

In terms of Piroe, links with Leicester City seem to have cooled dramatically, with sources in the East Midlands suggesting a striker is unlikely to currently be on the radar of Brendan Rodgers. Watford too have recently been linked, but at the time of writing there doesn't appear to be anything imminent there, either.

Downes, meanwhile, having previously been linked with Leeds United, is understood to have caught the eye of Wolves, Southampton, and Crystal Palace

There's a feeling in some quarters within the club that Piroe would be the preferred choice to leave this summer. That could perhaps be due to the form of Michael Obafemi towards the end of the season, or maybe that Downes is seen as a more valuable influence in the engine room of the Martin machine.

There have already been a couple of names on the radar one could consider as potential replacements should Piroe depart. Tottenham youngster Troy Parrott could be made available on loan and is a name Martin likes, although he's not the only one to take an interest in the Irishman.

One scenario that simply cannot happen is for either (or worse both) Downes and Piroe to be sold without time to bring in suitable replacements.

The Joe Allen question

Martin's admiration for Joe Allen is just about the worst kept secret of the window, but there's clearly some work to do before any deal can materialise.

Allen is currently on holiday in Mallorca, having made the decision to leave Stoke City. The Potters were always going to be first in line for consideration this summer, but talks with other clubs are likely to intensify over the next week or so.

Links with David Kasumu, while disputed in validity, still suggest other options may well already be under consideration, but Allen is still firmly on the radar.

Swansea have made their interest clear to Allen's representatives over the last few weeks, but have seemingly stopped short of making a formal offer, with Martin likely needing to shift out a player or two before the club can put an attractive package together.

Allen is understood to be interested in a return to south Wales, but with the number of other clubs lurking, Swansea will need to ensure they can conjure up a competitive offer.

They don't necessarily have to outspend their rivals, but will likely need to offer something in the same ballpark, and that is proving the biggest barrier to getting the move done.

One thing's for sure, if they are going to get Allen on board, it would be preferable to do so sooner rather than later.

Offload the fringe players

As well as Downes and Piroe, it's understood the Swans have also received tentative enquiries from League One for Liam Walsh and Jay Fulton, both of whom seem likely to be surplus to requirements.

Shifting the pair out would certainly make their chase for Allen easier, but there are other fringe players the Swans will similarly look to move on, including Ryan Bennett, who has seemingly struggled to adapt to life under Martin.

Whether they will be able to command any fees for those players remains to be seen, but certainly Martin will feel that moving them on will help add a richer depth to his options.

One man they could yet cash in on is Joel Latibeaudiere, who's been on the radar of newly-relegated Burnley.

Sources in the north-west had previously indicated that the Clarets were weighing up a bid for the former Man City starlet, who's well known to Vincent Kompany.

However, activity elsewhere has seemingly seen their interest cool, and there's still a chance he could yet end up staying in SA1.

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