Home » Teams » Swansea » This 7-goal Liverpool starlet is more than capable of adding an x-factor to Swansea City’s frail midfield – Agreed?

This 7-goal Liverpool starlet is more than capable of adding an x-factor to Swansea City’s frail midfield – Agreed?

Why Herbie Kane could bring that X-Factor to Swansea City’s midfield

According to Wales Online, Swansea City have been credited with an interest in Liverpool starlet Herbie Kane, who is expected to leave Anfield on loan in January. 

The 20-year-old, who impressed out on loan at Doncaster Rovers in League One with 7 goals and 10 assists in 49 appearances across all competitions, attracted widespread interest from several Football League clubs this summer but Liverpool pulled the plug on a second consecutive temporary move away from Anfield. 

However, the Reds are prepared to alter their stance heading into the January transfer window and Kane’s availability has put Championship sides Hull City, Swansea City, as well as Scottish giants Rangers, on red alert. (h/t Wales Online)

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Kane was handed his first-team debut by senior manager Jurgen Klopp in Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over MK Dons in the EFL Cup but they now seemingly feel that it is better for the 20-year-old to move out on loan and prove his worth in the Championship before staking a claim for a substantial role in the squad next term. 

Meanwhile, Swansea City have laid down an early marker as genuine promotion contenders following a promising start to the Championship under the stewardship of Steve Cooper. 

Despite losing two of last season’s mainstays, Oliver Mcburnie and Daniel James, as well as  former manager Graham Potter, who departed the Welsh outfit to take up the role at Brighton, Swansea have put all the setbacks behind them to start afresh under Cooper, taking everyone by surprise with their stunning start to the campaign. 

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The Swans were amongst the lowest spending sides in the Championship this summer, despite being armed with plenty of cash from the big-money sales of James and Mcburnie to the Premier League.

Cooper brought in the likes of Woodman, Surridge, Wilmot and Kalulu on loan from various clubs to bolster his ranks, with Kristoffer Peterson being the only player to come through the door with a price tag on his head. 

The resurgence of Borja Baston and Andre Ayew has been one of the major positives from Swansea’s start to the season, whilst summer recruits Freddie Woodman and Jake Bidwell have played their part pretty well in their respective positions. 

Despite the central midfield pairing of Matt Grimes and Jay Fulton doing an excellent job in the first couple of months, the Swans should look to bring in a player or two in that area of the pitch during the January window in a bid to increase their squad depth. 

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Tom Carroll, of course, is more than a handy back-up to have in the ranks but given that he hasn’t played a lot of football in recent times, the Swans might as well dip into the market for a younger player. 

More importantly, the lack of a genuine goalscoring threat in central midfield could prove to be a stumbling block for Swansea in their pursuit of promotion when the race for the playoffs go down to the wire.

Neither Grimes nor Fulton has been able to make an impact in that regard, with the Cooper largely relying on the likes of Ayew and Baston to deliver the goods in front of goal. 

To that end, the acquisition of a creative goalscoring central midfielder like Herbie Kane would certainly hand a massive boost to the manager’s squad dynamics. 

The 20-year-old’s arrival is likely to add another dimension to Swansea’s rather one-dimensional central midfield options and even if he produces half the returns that he did in League One last season, the Swans would definitely have a better chance of securing promotion. 

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A lively and energetic presence in the middle of the park, Herbie Kane combines his creativity, vision and range of passing with his low centre-of-gravity and dribbling skills to create space and unlock tight defences. 

Plus, Kane’s ability to play in attacking and box-to-box roles means that Cooper can also look at him as cover and competition for the likes of George Byers and Bersant Celina.

The manager has constantly rotated Celina and Byers in that No.10 role and Kane’s presence would definitely give him something more to think about.

 Verdict

All in all, Swansea City going all out to secure the services of Herbie Kane in January should be an absolute no-brainer, as he might well prove to be the X-Factor that they currently lack in the middle of the park.