Leeds United has reportedly been in the hunt for Swansea City’s star defender Kyle Bartley for quite some time now. The 27-year-old player was out on loan at Leeds United in the 2016-17 season. He was impressive for them and made 45 appearances in the Championship.
However, Leeds did not offer to extend his deal and he came back to Swansea for this season. He has been unable to make an impression at the Welsh club having only made 4 appearances all season this time around. However, his season has also been hampered by a ligament injury in his knee which saw him ruled out from August to January.
It was then being reported that Swansea may have to deal with a possible departure of their star defender Bartley with Leeds United the possible frontrunners to sign him but things appear to have not moved forward since, according to Yorkshire Evening Post’s chief football writer and Leeds United expert, Phil Hay.
As for Swansea City, they have had a swinging season this time around. They were set for the drop until January when their then new manager Carlos Carvalhal was appointed. The Portuguese staged a stunning comeback over the next two months with Swansea beating Jurgen Klopp’s men in the league enroute moving out of the relegation zone.
They were looking increasingly likely to survive but their form once again waned since April. A succession of defeats saw them slip right down and they became the final team on the last match day to get relegated.
With the club now moving down to the Championship, their manager has been sacked and Swansea are likely to lose a host of players as well. They will have to deal with their financial restraints as a result of their relegation and the Swans might have to part ways with several star players.
This has seen the news of Bartley departing gather momentum with Leeds United interested, as mentioned before. The Whites have already experienced Bartley a season back and were very happy with his performances.
Leeds has been unable to perform well this season despite starting brilliantly. After the departure of Thomas Christiansen, the club lost further ground and moved completely out of the playoffs race. They will now need to reshape for next season and Bartley might be a key player if Leeds wish to shuffle their defence.
All that now remains to be seen if Swansea will sell to a direct opponent and how much will they charge if they do.
