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Brewing disharmony? – Swansea City must bite the bullet and sell this frustrated 30-year-old at the earliest

Why Swansea City should offload shot-stopper Kristoffer Nordfeldt

According to Wales Online, out-of-favour Swansea City shot-stopper Kristoffer Nordfeldt has voiced his frustration over his lack of playtime in the Championship this term, with the 30-year-old admitting that a January exit could be on the cards. 

The 10-cap Swedish international, who is currently away from the Liberty Stadium on international duty, has failed to make even a single appearance for the Swans in the Championship thus far this term. 

Nordfeldt started all three EFL Cup fixtures, as Swansea City crashed out of the competition against Watford after registering victories over Northampton Town and Cambridge United, but new manager Steve Cooper has seemed reluctant to include him in his plans for the Championship games. 

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Newcastle United loanee and England U-21 shot-stopper Freddie Woodman has established himself as the undisputed No.1 between the sticks at the Liberty Stadium this term, with the highly-rated youngster proving his worth with some impressive displays. 

The Swans have managed an envious defensive record in the Championship thus far and Woodman’s reliable presence in goal has been instrumental. The 22-year-old has only conceded 8 goals in 11 games while keeping as many as four clean-sheets in the process. 

To that end, it is not difficult to see why the likes of Kristoffer Nordfeldt and Erwin Mulder have been forced to cut frustrated figures on the sidelines. Woodman has well and truly justified his designation as the club’s No.1 and neither Mulder nor Nordfeldt is likely to get a look in from Cooper if the youngster continues his rich vein of form in the coming months. 

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Nordfeldt and Mulder shared the No.1 role equally under Graham Potter in the previous campaign but neither of them showed enough consistency and, Nordfeldt, in particular, wasn’t all that impressive. 

The 30-year-old Swedish international conceded 36 goals in 25 appearances and managed just 6 shut-outs, which amounts to a concession rate of around 1.44 per game. Mulder, on the other, hand, shipped 32 in 27 outings and managed 9 clean-sheets. 

However, Woodman has proven himself to be an upgrade on either of the two goalkeepers, with the youngster boasting of a concession rate of less than a goal per game this season, while also keeping 4 clean-sheets.

It remains to be seen what those numbers look like at the end of the season but the loanee has already done enough to get the nod ahead of Nordfeldt. 

Kristoffer Nordfeldt, who arrived from Dutch club Heerenveen in 2015, played second-fiddle to Lukasz Fabianski for three seasons in the Premier League before the club’s relegation from the top-flight saw the Pole move on to West Ham

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The 30-year-old was tipped by many to take up the No.1 role following Fabianski’s departure but he failed to make the most of his opportunities under Potter last season and it is hardly a surprise to see him warming the benches this term as well. 

However, with his contract at the Liberty Stadium set to expire next summer, the Swans need to make a decision on his future. Of course, the 30-year-old could choose to somehow play out his contract and leave for free at the end of the season but cashing in on him in January would be the right decision for the club. 

Given that he is not in Cooper’s plans moving forward, it doesn’t make any sense for Swansea to pay him the wages for doing next to nothing and putting him up for sale in January could help them recoup a portion of the money that they had spent to bring him to the club in 2015. 

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Mulder, too, is out of contract at the end of the season and Swansea making an attempt to sign Freddie Woodman permanently would probably depend on where they play their football next season. 

To conclude, Nordfeldt’s prospects of playing first-team football look bleak at the moment and an exit in January would be the ideal settlement for all parties involved.