Russell Martin accepts Joel Piroe could leave Swansea City this summer as the striker approaches the final year of his contract with the club.
The Dutchman has excelled since joining from PSV Eindhoven in the summer of 2021, scoring 43 goals under head coach Martin so far - with his brace in Wednesday night's win over Preston North End taking his tally for the current campaign to 19 in all competitions.
However, Martin believes the forward's current contract situation leaves Swansea somewhat vulnerable to losing Piroe this summer, with the 37-year-old stating the frontman will have admirers given his remarkable goal output since moving to south Wales.
READ MORE: Russell Martin blames Preston boss for 'carnage' with Joe Allen at end of Swansea City match
"I'm sure there will be (eyes on him). Well, I know there is," said Martin. "If it was down to me he would have been sorted a long time ago, but it's not.
"Our main job is to win as many games as we possibly can, the next big remit is to develop young talent and give them an opportunity to play. While it's frustrating that you may end up losing players of Joel's ilk, like Flynn Downes last summer, maybe Joel this summer, who knows, with a year left on his contract we have to accept that may be a possibility.
"It's part of our job to do that and help the club become sustainable, because that's the model. In an ideal world you would keep this group of young players together for as long as possible to try and give yourselves the best possible chance of getting to the Premier League together, but if you have to lose one or two players along the way to go again, that's the model.
"All I know is Joel is really happy, we have a brilliant relationship with him. His representatives and parents understand how good Joel has been for us and how good we've been for him. Joel's just really enjoying himself. He was probably similar to me at some point this season, he said he got caught up in other stuff that was frustrating him and worrying about all of the stuff he couldn't control. But when he's just focused back on performing and being himself, he's been outstanding. He's going to score 20 goals again this season.
"It's an amazing achievement for someone so young. The style of play suits him perfectly and he's suited us perfectly. I hope we get to work with him for longer and I hope we're both here for longer but we'll have to wait and see.
"We offered him a contract a while ago, but it's every player's prerogative not to sign that. We're in that situation now and we have to deal with it."
Meanwhile, the Swans are yet to hear from the Football Association following the fracas between players and coaches in the final stages of the 4-2 success over Preston in midweek.
Joe Allen and Lilywhites boss Ryan Lowe were both sent off by referee Oliver Langford after a mass brawl erupted near the touchline in the 85th minute of the Championship contest between the sides at the Swansea.com Stadium.
It means midfielder Allen is now unavailable for Swansea's final three matches of the season against Norwich City, Hull City and West Brom due to suspension.
And while Martin confirmed the club have not officially been contacted by the FA, the head coach revealed he spoke with Preston boss Lowe on the phone after the incident.
"I said on the night, it is what it is. I spoke to Ryan, he called us, I spoke to Joe as well, he apologised which I thought was great. We'll just let the football authorities deal with it now," explained Martin.
"We had a chat. I didn't judge him on the action anyway because he's done a great job there and this job comes with a lot of pressure. I think it was good of him to call us up, we had a really good chat, we wished him all the best for the rest of the season, as he did us, and everyone moves on."
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