These are your Swansea City headlines on Tuesday, December 20.
Scott back in football
Former Swansea transfer specialist Andy Scott has been appointed technical director at Charlton.
The Addicks appointed Dean Holden as their new boss on Tuesday, with further structural appointments off the pitch too, with Scott arriving to help on the recruitment side.
Scott has held similar roles with Brentford, Watford and most recently Nottingham Forest where he linked up with former Swansea head coach Steve Cooper.
Scott left the City Ground in October, with the Reds having brought in 22 players for a combined fee of £150 million.
Charlton are struggling at the wrong end of the League One table, with the south Londoners hovering above the relegation zone.
“I am really pleased we have been able to bring in Andy Scott," said Charlton owner Thomas Sandgaard. "He is a highly-regarded individual who has played an important role in the success of a number of clubs and has the vision, skillset and contacts to help move the club forward. He’ll play a key role in the January transfer window and longer term will help further align the direction of our men’s first team and academy."
Stewart's £10million price tag
Sunderland's Ross Stewart has been slapped with a £10million price tag as teams circle for his services, according to reports.
A number of teams, including Swansea, have been credited with interest, along with Rangers and Middlesbrough, although at that price Russell Martin's men are certainly out of the equation.
Stewart has been out of action for months due to injury but is now back for the Black Cats. They are keen to tie him down to a new deal amid speculation surrounding his future.
“With our most high-profile players, we want to maintain and retain the players that are having a positive impact both on and off the pitch for Sunderland," said Sunderland’s sporting director Kristjaan Speakman. "Naturally Ross Stewart fits this profile, but Ross does have a significant period of time left on his contract.
“Unfortunately, it becomes a polarising discussion where it is either the club don’t want to pay the money and fans start demanding that money is spent. This is a nonsensical start point and no business would operate under that model. Or the other end of the spectrum is a player is holding the club to ransom.
“Neither of these are true with Ross. The club wants to retain the player and the player wants to stay – and is naturally doing well at this time. Ross needs to make the best decision for his livelihood. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to stay and this is the basis of a typical negotiation which can sometimes take up to 18 months at a time.
“This isn’t an unusual situation that anyone should be getting worried about, but I do appreciate the supporters are keen we tie Ross Stewart onto a longer-term contract. These feelings are replicated internally.”
Cundle: We play like a Premier League side
Luke Cundle says Swansea play like a Premier League side and revealed that was a big consideration when deciding to join the club last summer.
The Wolves loanee has impressed over the course of the first half of the season
“This was something I thought about before I came here,” Cundle says of Swansea's passing style and possession-based football. “Russell has his way of playing and that suits me to a tee really, it’s really smooth and I’ve fitted right in.
“Wolves felt it was a good move for me as well because it fitted in with my way of playing. I don’t think the league has caught me by surprise because I expected it.
“It’s very physical and most of the teams like to play direct football. But we’re a bit different. We like to keep the ball and play out from the back.
“In my eyes we play like a Premier League side so playing that way has helped me a lot to fit into the way the Championship works.”
Twenty-year-old Cundle has had a whirlwind 12 months but there is no doubt what his highlight has been in a Swansea shirt.
“I played in the Cardiff (a fierce rivalry) game a month or so ago and that was amazing,” he says. “I’ve never played in an atmosphere like that with two rivals going at it but it was great to play in.
“You get that extra boost off the crowd. Academy football is a bit different to elite football and playing in front of fans is the biggest difference.
“There are some fine margins at the moment that have stopped us getting the points we want on the board. As soon as we iron out those details there is no reason why we can’t be in the play-offs.
“I was speaking to the manager a couple of days ago and we both feel the same about my game. Football nowadays is about goals and how many chances you create and I think that side of my game needs to improve.
“I’m capable but I need to produce the numbers.”
Fulton left with mixed feelings
Swansea midfielder Jay Fulton was left with a mixed feeling of frustration and pride following the 3-3 draw with Coventry City at the weekend.
Going 3-0 down is never the plan, the Scot said, but he has taken solace in the fact they managed to claw their way back into a game yet again.
“Going 3-0 down is disappointing,” said the midfielder. “We are disappointed in the performance for the first hour of the game, but I think to come back and score three goals to get a point in the end shows the character and togetherness from the squad.
"We have to take the positives.
“The ability to come from behind is a good trait to have, but we don’t want to allow the other team to go into the lead. So yes, it’s encouraging on one side, but there’s another side to it as well.
“Scoring three goals inside 20 minutes, we have to use that but we have to work on getting more bodies inside the box. It was good for Joel [Piroe] and Liam Cullen to get on the scoresheet – you want your strikers scoring goals and that's another positive we can look to build on."
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