Swansea City may have double Leyton Orient transfer regret | OneFootball

Swansea City sold Azeem Abdulai to Leyton Orient before failing in their pursuit for Ethan Galbraith

It was another dismal January transfer window for Swansea City and Luke Williams has a weaker squad at his disposal than he did prior to the window opening.

There were only two permanent first-team departures in the form of Matt Grimes and Azeem Abdulai, and while the departure of captain Grimes understandably was the main focus of attention, Abdulai's exit could also prove crucial.

The 22-year-old departed Swansea for Leyton Orient, and he's thrived since the move to Brisbane Road, registering an impressive three goals and one assist in just three appearances.

However, Abdulai's exit wasn't Swansea's only dealing with the O's in January, and the Welsh side saw a deadline day bid rejected for Ethan Galbraith as they looked to bolster their midfield with time running out.

Despite the loan signings of Hannes Delcroix and Lewis O'Brien from Burnley and Nottingham Forest respectively, Swansea's transfer business was poor in January, and they may well have double Leyton Orient regret as a result.

Swansea City should have double Leyton Orient transfer regret

Swansea selling Abdulai was a slight surprise, especially as he'd been ever present in their matchday squad this season, but it begs the question of why he wasn't used as leverage in a bid to bring Galbraith to the club.

If Galbraith was a player that Swansea were keen on, and they knew Abdulai was leaving for Leyton Orient, perhaps a swap deal could have been arranged or perhaps Abdulai could have been thrown into any deal for the Swans to sign Galbraith.

Instead, Abdulai left Swansea for an undisclosed fee, thought to be a nominal fee with his contract at the club set to expire in the summer, and they were priced out of a deadline day move for Galbraith, leaving them with neither player.

It reeks of poor planning on the Swans' behalf that they didn't use Leyton Orient's interest in Abdulai to their advantage when the O's had a player that they wanted to sign, and they're now short of Championship-standard players.

Their January woes have been compounded by Abdulai impressing at the O's, scoring a hat-trick in just his second appearance for the club, and he's living up to the potential which saw him linked with the likes of West Ham and Newcastle United in the past.

Swansea's January business could be described as haphazard at best, and their failure to use Abdulai as a pawn to bring Galbraith to the club shows a lack of planning which leaves them in a weaker position than they were prior to the window opening.

Swansea City's January business leaves them in a difficult position

Swansea City have endured an awful start to 2025, picking up just one point from their last six Championship fixtures, and they've slid down the table at an alarming rate.

At the turn of the year, Swansea looked like potential play-off outsiders, but now there's a genuine chance they get dragged into a relegation battle.

With that in mind, it was hoped that a strong January transfer window would go a long way to putting a stop to their slide down the table, but they've failed to properly strengthen their squad.

Despite being quality players, just two loan signings isn't good enough, especially when you consider that Swansea have lost their captain and highest-earner in the form of Grimes, and more signings should have been expected.

Swansea's new ownership group have failed in their first real challenge, and failure to capitalise on a potential Leyton Orient double deal in January just highlights some of the deficiencies in the club's transfer policy.