Ashley Barnes has been subject to speculation over his future at Burnley and Swansea City are keen.
With Fernando Llorente looking nailed on to leave Swansea City on transfer deadline day, Paul Clement’s side must find a way to plug a gaping hole in their squad.
Llorente scored a mightily impressive 15 goals in his debut season in English football including crucial strikes in the final few weeks of the season to keep The Swans in the Premier League at Hull City’s expense.
And a huge number of strikers have been linked as Swansea aim to find a potential replacement. The Mail (live blog, 9.28am) claims that they have had a £12 million bid rejected by Norwich City for Nelson Oliveira, the former Benfica forward who spend time on loan at the Liberty in 2014/15.
And the same publication (9.05am) claims that Swansea also have another former player in their sights, Manchester City misfit Wilfried Bony. However, the Ivorian also has an offer from Serie A newcomers Hellas Verona, meaning an emotional return to South Wales is far from certain.
Consequently, the report adds that Burnley’s Ashley Barnes is also a target, although they have had an opening bid of £8 million turned down. The one-time Austria youth international may be at risk of falling down the pecking order at Burnley after the club-record signing of Chris Wood from Leeds United.
However, reports of Swansea’s bid is unlikely to get the pulses racing in South Wales. Barnes is far from prolific after all, scoring just 11 goals in 63 top flight appearances in Burnley colours.
And it remains to be seen whether they will be forced to increase their bid or instead turn their attention elsewhere.
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