Your latest Swansea City headlines on Friday, December 9.
Co-owner set for rare visit
Jason Levien will attend Swansea City's Championship clash with Norwich City.
The American is yet to watch the Swans live in person under Russell Martin but will be at the Swansea.com Stadium - along with Jake Silverstein - for Saturday's contest against the Canaries.
Head coach Martin held talks with Silverstein this week over the direction of the club while also discussing plans for the January transfer window.
And the 36-year-old has confirmed he will hold further talks with Silverstein and the club's co-owner Levien following the conclusion of the game against his former club.
"My job is not to get clarity on what we can and can't do, my job is to have clarity on what we want and what we think we need to help the squad and to back that up with some evidence," he explained when asked about his plans for the January window.
"I think we all agree, Julian [Winter] and Josh [Marsh] as well, on what's going to help us. Now it's up to us to try and establish the people who we like and if we can get them or we can't.
"Jake and Jason are both here over the weekend. Jake's here at the moment, we had a good chat with him over a couple of hours. Jason's here as well, it's quite a quick visit but I'm pretty sure after that we'll have even more of an idea of what we can do."
Pato to benefit most from Scotland camp
Russell Martin believes Jamie Paterson will benefit most from Swansea's training camp in Scotland.
The Swans spent a week in Edinburgh during the World Cup break in a bid to maintain their fitness levels and match sharpness ahead of the league's return this weekend.
They beat both Hearts and Dundee United during their time in Scotland, with Paterson netting in a 2-0 win over the latter at Tannadice.
It comes following what has been a frustrating campaign for the attacker so far. Injuries have severely hampered his progress, with Paterson featuring just nine times in all competitions for the Swans while he has failed to register a single goal or assist this term.
However, Martin believes the 30-year-old now has the platform to improve in the second-half of the campaign as a result of his efforts during the World Cup break.
"In terms of players who have benefitted the most, it's been him," Martin said of the playmaker. "It's been like his pre-season really.
"The physical numbers he's putting up now are really similar to what he was doing last season. We haven't been able to get that out of him because he's been struggling on and off with injury.
"Someone said to me after the last game, 'what's happening with Paterson?'. He's been fighting against an injury, he's been to see a few specialists, we've tried a few different things. In the end it's been a plan he's had to stick to really consistently and take some time, there's no shortcut.
"It's been frustrating for everyone, but he's in a really good place now, he was really impressive in the games in Scotland. It's like we've got the old Pato back.
"When you're injured and you're not quite right, it affects your energy and your state, so it was really frustrating for him and everyone that he wasn't quite himself.
"He was battling against that and that's really difficult, but we've got him back and hopefully we'll get the performances back that we got last season."
Martin 'unsure' how to feel over Norwich reunion
Russell Martin admits he's unsure how he will feel when he comes up against former club Norwich City for the first time in a competitive fixture this weekend.
The Swansea boss spent just shy of a decade with the Carrow Road outfit and won three promotions during his time at the Norfolk club. However, Martin admits the reunion with his previous employers will be made all the better if the Swans can clinch all three points on their Championship return.
“It will be really nice to see a lot of people I know and had some brilliant times with," he explained. "But I really want to win the game. That’s the be all and end all.
“I am not sure [how he will feel]. I have never played against them since. I went there in pre-season as a manager when we were at MK, but that’s very different.
“I don’t know until we do it. I think once the whistle goes, this is a job I want to be really successful in and if that means beating the club where I was for a long time, that has to be part of it.
“We have a job to do is to put in a performance and win the game.”
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Cooper's Wales hope
Ollie Cooper admits his Wales aim is to break into the squad and showcase his talents as swiftly as possible.
The 22-year-old was included on the standby list for Rob Page's 26-man World Cup squad and trained with the international team on a daily basis in Qatar.
And while he is yet to make his senior bow for the Red Dragons, Cooper says he is determined to progress for Wales having had the taste of being in the international set-up.
"To go away and be a part of it and train with the players, it was amazing, it's something that I'll never forget," he said.
"You always want more. Just to go away was a massive moment for me and I'm so proud to even be considered to be on standby.
"But now my aim is to get in the squad. Once I'm in the squad, I want to get on the pitch and then hopefully I can show what I can do on the pitch."
And on training with Wales' elite, Cooper commented: "They're players I've been watching for a long time who have been playing at the highest level.
"I'm lucky enough at the moment to be doing it most days with Joe Allen, so to then go away and do it with Aaron Ramsey, Gareth Bale, Ben Davies, Dan James, all these players, it's amazing.
"You've just got to take every opportunity to learn from them, whether it's in training, on or off the pitch, they're just proper professionals and people I aspire to be like. To get the opportunity to learn from them first hand is just amazing."
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