Paul Clement has had a nightmarish start to his Premier League career as a manager. Swansea City cannot stop losing at the moment and the latest hammer blow was provided by North London club Arsenal last weekend when atrocious defending saw Swansea slumping to a 4-0 defeat at Liberty Stadium.
However, one positive thing the Swans could take from their game would be their impressive display in the first half. The Gunners were really caught off guard and if not for some clumsy finishing by Swansea forwards, they might just have taken the lead.
Clement has experimented with his midfield since coming, playing with one in the middle sometimes, while providing extra cushion at times, like he did against Arsenal when Ki and skipper York took the anchor role, letting Sigurdsson express himself in the number 10 role.
While Swansea have some really talented players in Jack Cork, Ki and Leroy Fer in the midfield, Clement has to do some reshuffling to bring some freshness against different opponents. And Swansea are exactly aiming for that, as they edge closer to the signing of Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Tom Carroll.
Telegraph reports that the South Wales club have agreed an initial fee for the player already and Spurs are understood to have accepted a basic offer of around £5m for the player, although they want the overall deal to be worth around £9m when add-ons are included. The clubs are in talks and a development is on the cards.
Carroll has played only twice this season as he failed to impress boss Mauricio Pochettino and the manager would like to let the player go for first team chances. The move is expected to be completed as early as next week.
At 24, Carroll has decent experience in English Football, as he has played 147 games so far in clubs like QPR, Swansea City, Leyton Orient and Derby County, apart from Tottenham. He has 7 goals and 17 assists so far.
A Tottenham academy product since 2008, Carroll has never got a real break in their first team. He played 19 games last season and was impressive with his passing. In fact, Clement is really impressed with his passing prowess and he could really flourish alongside Sigurdsson, Fer and Llorente.
His experience with Tottenham in the Europa League makes him a valuable asset, having experience at the highest level. Swansea are right at the bottom of the table after their recent defeat and Clement faces a big task in turning around their campaign soon to survive relegation. And Carroll could play an inspiring role in that.
