Former Liverpool and Chelsea midfielder Raul Meireles has emerged as a possible target for a number of Premier League clubs. The 34-year-old is currently a free agent, having left Turkish club Fenerbahce in the summer and Swansea City are reportedly interested in the player.
The experienced midfielder has been looking for a new challenge and is in talks with a number of clubs. He is yet to decide on his future and the Wales club reportedly want to convince him to test his mettle at the Liberty Stadium this season.
Meireles started his football career in his native country Portugal, at Boavista. He graduated from the Portuguese club and moved to Porto on a free transfer. He played some stellar football there and spent a long six seasons at the club.
His trickery in the middle of the pitch attracted Liverpool and the Portuguese made his entry to England with a stint at Anfield. He had maintained his superb form for the Reds but to everyone’s surprise, his stay at the club was very short lived as Chelsea came calling and he couldn’t say no to the West London outfit.
He was expected to have a brighter future at the Stamford Bridge but similarly, like his previous stint in the country, he had only managed to stay there for a single season which included a Champions League triumph.
Swansea brought in Renato Sanches and Roque Mesa in the summer but neither of them has been able to take control in the middle of the pitch according to the need of the game and Paul Clement is now looking for that x-factor.
Given Meireles’s previous experience in the Premier League, he would be able to use his wealth of experience to grind out something in this season. But one thing, that could be an issue, is his fitness.
The player is on the wrong side of thirty and has been out of touch since he left Fenerbahce at the end of the last season. The competition in the Premier League is becoming tougher and tougher day by day and it remains to be seen whether he would be able to give his 100% should he arrive in the Premier League.
A number of clubs including Italian club Cagliari are interested in taking the player under their fold but Meireles hasn’t made any promises to any side. Clement would love to have a player of his stature but do you think Swansea can land him?
