Swansea are experiencing a stormy ride in the English Premier League at the moment and it has been made further worse by league leaders Chelsea eyeing their star striker Fernando Llorente this January. The Swans are currently one position above the bottom of the table and with a new boss at the helm, the club is going through a transition phase.
Chelsea have inflicted some serious damage to certain Premier League clubs this season. Llorente is not the only instance where they are looking to rob off an important player from a struggling club. They have also called back their loanee, Nathan Ake, from Bournemouth who was playing a huge role in the Cherries’ brilliant run in the league, leaving Eddie Howe with very little time to find another such centre-half.
In Llorente’s case, Conte has previously worked with the Spaniard during his stint at Juventus, which was quite a successful one. With their summer recruit Michy Batshuayi failing to impress under Conte, Llorente is more of a temporary solution for Chelsea. Hence, the Blues are likely to make a loan offer for him.
While stopping Llorente isn’t in Swansea’s hands, they could surely include a swap move in the deal for Chelsea’s failed striker. However, the Belgium international is not keen on a move to south Wales despite Chelsea agreeing to it. This has further encouraged West Ham to reignite their interest in him, should he be allowed to leave on loan.
With time running out, Swansea have reportedly opted to go all out for forgotten Leicester City forward Leonardo Ulloa. The 30-year-old Argentina international has fallen out of favour at the King Power Stadium and is looking for regular time football outside.
Ulloa played an important role in the Foxes’ Premier League winning campaign last season and could be a decent option for Swansea at the moment. He has never been a big scorer, but it is his work rate in the attacking third, which could be a big factor for him.
He had netted six times last season in 29 appearances, and this season he has managed to score once in 12 appearances. But, he has a 71% passing accuracy and has displayed some astounding finishing last season. At 185cm, he is also quite strong in the air winning 2.5 of his average aerial duels.
He could be the target man for Clement up front, who would hold the ball and provide passes on the counter. His defensive attributions could also be a huge plus for the relegation dwellers.
