Your Swansea City headlines on Friday, January 27.
Gers revive Whittaker interest
Rangers have had an offer worth £2m for Morgan Whittaker rejected by Swansea, WalesOnline understands.
We revealed earlier this month that the Scottish Premiership giants were keen on a move for the 22-year-old.
They had a bid knocked back by the Swans having fallen way short of the club's valuation. And it's understood they made a new proposal on Thursday morning to take Whittaker from the Swansea.com Stadium to Ibrox this month, an offer that was swiftly turned down.
READ MORE: Swansea City's interest in Luton Town striker Harry Cornick and stance on Aston Villa man revealed
Whittaker was due to be involved in Swansea's Championship fixture at Queens Park Rangers last weekend, although the player asked to be left out after admitting he was not in the right frame of mind to feature in west London.
Head coach Russell Martin later admitted he expected Whittaker to remain at the club this month.
Speaking after the 1-1 draw with Neil Critchley's men, Martin said: "I did the (pre-match) press conference and received a text from Morgs saying he wasn't in the right frame of mind to travel with the squad, for a number of reasons.
"The situation hasn't changed, we haven't received any more bids from anyone. We have to respect that and be conscious he's a young man in a difficult moment. His wellbeing is the most important bit.
"He's got his family with him this weekend because he doesn't want to think about football and we'll assess the situation when we're back in on Monday and see where we're all at.
"It just means it'll be a slower process, him trying to get back into the team if he's still here in 12 days or whatever it is, which I envisage him being."
Duo on radar
Harry Cornick and Ashley Barnes have emerged as viable transfer options for Swansea.
Both players are out of contract in the summer and have been identified as potential targets to move to south Wales in the final stages of the winter window.
However, Luton Town have no desire to offload Cornick before Tuesday's 11pm deadline while Bristol City are understood to be the frontrunners to secure his signature.
As for Barnes, while a proven Championship frontman, his age does not align with the ownership's recruitment model which could prove to make a deal a non-starter.
Nevertheless, Russell Martin remains eager to bolster his forward options as the Swans aim to challenge for a place in the Championship's top six.
Obafemi deal imminent
Michael Obafemi is expected to be announced as a Burnley player in the next 24 hours.
The Clarets had two bids for the forward rejected by Swansea earlier this month having been unable to reach an agreement with the club in the summer transfer window.
But they are finally set to land their man after striking a deal to sign Obafemi on loan, with that move to be made permanent in the summer.
Obafemi has since completed a medical with Vincent Kompany's side and is now on the brink of officially sealing a switch to Turf Moor.
The deal is expected to be worth up to £4m for Swansea.
READ MORE: Burnley agree deal to sign Michael Obafemi as Swansea City's transfer window comes to life
Allen confident of top-six challenge
Joe Allen believes Swansea are more than capable of challenging for a play-off spot in the Championship this season.
The Swans have a free weekend ahead following their FA Cup third round exit to Bristol City earlier this month.
They sit just three points off the play-off places and only five behind third-placed Watford with 18 league matches still to be played this season.
And Wales star Allen is confident that the Swans can be in the mix when it comes to the top six positions come the business end of the campaign.
“For sure, we have the belief that we can be contenders over the second half of the season,” he told the club website.
“The first half we have shown we are capable of being in the promotion race. There have been some fine margins we have come out on the wrong side of and there are certain things we need to improve, but we have the ability to do that.
“It is about ironing out those mistakes. If we are able to do that then there is no reason we cannot be in the mix.
“More than ever, you can see how tight the Championship is, and I am sure there are a lot of other teams who will feel the same way.
“But I truly believe we have enough to achieve that, particularly when you look at some of our recent performances like against Watford and Burnley.”
READ NEXT:
