According to a previous report from Wales Online during the summer transfer window, Swansea City had opened talks with centre-back Mike van der Hoorn over a new long-term deal to extend his stay at the Liberty Stadium.
The Swans triggered a twelve-month extension clause earlier in the year to keep the Dutchman at the club for the ongoing campaign but they once again face the risk of losing the 27-year-old for free next summer, with the defender out of contract in 2020.
There haven’t been any further updates on how the contract negotiations between the club and the player have panned out but one would expect van der Hoorn to be in the news sooner rather than later.
The Swans could find themselves under pressure to make a call on the Dutchman’s future if talks over a new deal fail to reach a positive end but the fans will definitely be praying for him to stay put in South Wales beyond the end of the ongoing campaign.
Despite losing the likes of Daniel James and Oliver McBurnie to Man United and Sheffield United in the summer, as well as Graham Potter, who departed the Liberty Stadium to take up the job at Brighton, Swansea City have made a wonderful start to their Championship campaign under the stewardship of new manager Steve Cooper.
The Swans currently sit 4th in the standings, level on points with Preston and just a point behind pace-setters Nottingham Forest and West Brom, and early signs suggest that the Welsh outfit could possibly push on for promotion back to the Premier League at the second time of asking.
The resurgence of Borja Baston and Andre Ayew, of course, has been one of the major positives from their campaign so far but a lot of credit should also go to the centre-back pairing of Joe Rodon and Mike van der Hoorn, with the latter establishing himself as one of the most commanding central defenders in the Championship.
The towering 6ft 3in Dutchman, who made his move to Swansea from Dutch giants Ajax in 2016, was one of the standout performers for the Swans in their 2017-18 campaign in the Premier League when the club faced relegation from the top-flight and he has started each of their next 57 games in the Championship till date.
Van der Hoorn was a mainstay under Potter, starting all 46 games for the Swans last season, and he is well on course to achieving the same feat this term as well, with the 27-year-old playing every minute of the club’s campaign in the Championship this term after 11 rounds.
To that end, it doesn’t require a rocket scientist to figure out that the former Ajax and FC Utrecht star has established himself as one of the key players at the Liberty Stadium and a new contract for him should be at the top of Swansea’s priority list moving forward.
As per whoscored, Van Der Hoorn averages 4.2 aerial duels, 4.5 clearances and 4.6 successful long balls per game in the Championship this term to complement an impressive pass success rate of 85.1%.
Those figures are good enough regardless of the level at which is he currently performing, and it is imperative to say that the former Dutch U-21 international has been central to everything that Swansea City have achieved this season.
Apart from his obvious commanding nature as a ball-playing centre-back, Van der Hoorn is currently a leader at the back for the Swans and his ability to hold things together at the back has had a big positive influence on the growth of youngster Joe Rodon, who has also progressed by leaps and bounds under the management of Cooper.
The Swans have youngsters like Cian Harries and Brandon Cooper waiting for an opportunity on the wings but losing van der Hoorn would definitely be a massive step backwards as they look to mount a promotion surge to regain their top-flight status.
Suffice to say, Mike van der Hoorn continues to be an invaluable asset to the club regardless of which division they play in and with that in mind, Swansea City need to finalise a new contract for the 27-year-old at the earliest.
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