Swansea City: Andy Fisher and Liam Cullen situations will be on Luke Williams' mind | OneFootball

Luke Williams faces a dilemma with some members of his squad this summer

Highlights

With the Championship season starting in a months' time, Swansea boss Luke Williams faces a busy couple of weeks as he looks to shape his squad into one that can compete in the upper echelons of the Championship table.

The 2024/25 campaign is set to be Williams' first full season in SA1, and he's already seen two first-team players depart this summer, with Jerry Yates joining Derby County on a season-long loan, while Nathan Wood has joined Southampton on a permanent basis.

The duo leaving so early in the transfer window is a positive for Swansea as it gives Williams some clarity, and some additional transfer funds in Wood's case, but the Swans' boss will be fully aware that he has a number of other dilemmas to sort before his side's trip to Middlesbrough on the 10th August.

Swansea are short of players in certain key areas, and Jamie Patterson's future is still up in the air, with the 32-year-old technically becoming a free agent when his contract expired at the end of June.

However, a quick look at Swansea's squad will show that Williams has more pressing issues, and he has some important things to sort ahead of their trip to the Riverside Stadium in four weeks' time or so.

Swansea City must look to upgrade on Andy Fisher

Andy Fisher's situation will likely be on Williams' mind this summer, with the 26-year-old seemingly the club's number one goalkeeper at present.

Swansea had Carl Rushworth on loan from Brighton last season and the youngster became the club's number one, playing all 46 Championship games. This meant that Fisher, who was signed from MK Dons in January 2022, was resigned to the bench, and there are concerns over whether he's up to being Williams' number one.

He replaced Ben Hamer as Swansea's number one when he joined, but he was replaced by Steven Benda during the 2022/23 season after failing to impress, before Michael Duff brought Rushworth in on loan after a poor mistake by Fisher in a pre-season game against Oxford United last summer.

This means that many of the Jack Army aren't thrilled at the prospect of having Fisher starting in the Championship, but as it stands, the former Blackburn man looks set to start the season between the sticks.

The chances of Rushworth returning to Swansea on loan look slim, but with Fisher and Nathan Broome as the club's only senior goalkeeping options, Williams could be looking to bring in another shot-stopper, whether that be on loan or on a permanent basis.

Williams worked with the Wigan-born man at MK Dons, and was also Russell Martin's assistant when he signed for Swansea two-and-half-years ago, so it's not out of the question that he could be given a chance, but Swansea supporters will believe that they've seen enough errors from Fisher to warrant making a goalkeeper signing a priority.

Swansea need to agree a long-term deal with Liam Cullen or sell him

Liam Cullen is set to become a free agent next summer, and Swansea should sell him this summer should the forward not sign a long-term deal.

The 25-year-old came through Swansea's academy, and he was due to become a free agent this summer before the club activated a 12-month extension to give themselves some security.

Cullen scored seven goals and registered five assists in 49 appearances last season, taking his tally to 20 goals in 119 appearances for his boyhood club since making his debut in August 2018.

However, should they be unable to agree fresh terms this summer, they could look to sell the Welsh international to avoid losing him for nothing in a year's time.

When the club activated the contract extension in April, Williams told BBC Sport: “It’s a commitment and a platform for him to go and show why he should be tied down for a longer time.”

This suggests that there was reluctance from Swansea's hierarchy to give Cullen a long-term deal, and perhaps they could be tempted to sell the forward should they receive interest in him.

Cullen hasn't been short of interest in the past and the likes of Hull City, Stoke City and Bristol City were reportedly keen on him prior to his contract being extended.

Meanwhile, Blackburn Rovers were linked with a move for the Welshman last summer, but were unable to get a deal over the line for him.

With plenty of Championship interest in the past, if Swansea are unable to agree fresh terms with him, perhaps Williams and the club's owners will look to sell him this summer in a bid to cash in when they can.