Danny boy!
So Norwich AND Sunderland have this evening have put in a £5m for Swansea's Geordie born striker Danny Graham. But can Swansea really afford to lose him? Who else do Swansea have as a striker? Let's investigate this.
The 27 year old Englishman has this season been over-shadowed by the staggering performances of fellow striker Michu. The Gateshead born striker currently has 7 goals in 20 appearances for the Swans this season but his frustration over lack of game time has put Premier League clubs Norwich and Sunderland on high alert. Now both clubs have made bids believed to have been around the £5m mark for him. Although Graham hasn't had what can perceived as a glittering career, like fellow Englishmen Leon Osman, Scott Parker and Gareth Barry he is a late developer in his footballing career and he just keeps getting better with age.
Having started out at Chester-le-Street Town Graham then moved to Middlesbrough at the age of 18 years old where he managed to make 15 appearances and score only once. To be fair to the guy he was loaned out to Darlington, Derby, Blackpool and Carlisle who after the loan decided to train with Martin O'Neil at Aston Villa but eventually O'Neil decided not to sign Graham and was soon snapped up by Carlisle United on a 2 year contract. A decision that Martin O'Neil probably regrets now. Graham then began to progress rapidly at Carlisle and ended up with a grand total of 29 goals in 89 appearances. At the end of Graham's 2 year contract after several desperate attempts from Carlisle to renew his contract, Graham moved on to Watford where he soon blossomed. A tribunal later decided that Watford should pay an initial £200,000 in compensation to Carlisle, which eventually rose to £350,000. Graham netted 38 times in 91 appearances for Watford in a team which at the time had a average age of 23. Graham's progress drew attention from QPR, Villa and Swansea. QPR had a £2.5m bid rejected but Swansea clinched the strikers signature for £3.5m. The rest is history.
Would Danny Graham fit in well at Norwich firstly? Norwich already have Grant Holt, Steve Morrison, Simeon Jackson and Harry Kane as strikers who don't have a lot of Premier League experience between them. The Canaries though this season have definitely been missing a added presence to Grant Holt in their attack. Partly down to the injury that Steve Morrison suffered at the beginning of the season who I think can be a outstanding player if played to his strengths. However does Chris Hughton trust the Welsh international with his goal-scoring record of 10 goals in 53 games. If Norwich do sign Danny Graham though will he be partnering Grant Holt in the Norwich attack? or will he be a subtle replacement for the Norwich captain? It's hard to think that Holt and Graham would be a effective pairing with both being similar types of players with similar abilities.
On the other hand Sunderland have been having a miserable season along with Tyneside rivals Newcastle and currently find themselves just 14th in the Premier League. Although recently Sunderland have found a bit of form their primary problem has been goals where they have been relying heavily on record signing Steven Fletcher. Martin O'Neil has attempted to address the situation by signing Louis Saha in the summer but it just hasn't worked out for him and with Frazier Campbell, Conner Wickham and James McFadden not finding their best form O'Neil is under pressure to go out hunting for another striker. He has been a long time admirer of Danny Graham from his days at Aston Villa and the Swansea man could well be the answer for Sunderland but it would be a big risk for Graham with fierce competition for starting places. Will he be guaranteed games up in the up at Sunderland? Another unfortunate factor for Martin O'Neil is that Graham happens to be a lifelong Newcastle fan and as seen in the picture below clearly isn't keen on the Black Cats.
Graham's other option hear will be to remain at Swansea. The big question for him at Swansea though is whether he is guaranteed games? As we've seen this season it is a different Swansea team to that of last season. With the introduction of Michu into the team which seems to have been a stroke of genius from Michael Laudrup, Graham is falling out of favour with the manager. Part of this has been down to a few minor injuries but I believe there is still a place in that Swansea team if he can take his game to the next level which is what he has been able to do for all of his career so far. Another point though would be whether Swansea can afford to lose him? Looking at the back up that there is for Michael Laudrup there doesn't seem to be a lot of depth with Leroy Lita and Luke Moore the only back up. If you take Michu at that Swansea side then it is difficult to see where goals will come from. A lot would be relied upon Danny Graham and it would be up to him to deliver.
He now faces a key decision in his time at Swansea as does Michael Laudrup over whether to let him go.
This is my 50th post so to everybody who has kept reading up to this point. A BIG THANK YOU IN CAPITAL LETTERS. (Chip)
The 27 year old Englishman has this season been over-shadowed by the staggering performances of fellow striker Michu. The Gateshead born striker currently has 7 goals in 20 appearances for the Swans this season but his frustration over lack of game time has put Premier League clubs Norwich and Sunderland on high alert. Now both clubs have made bids believed to have been around the £5m mark for him. Although Graham hasn't had what can perceived as a glittering career, like fellow Englishmen Leon Osman, Scott Parker and Gareth Barry he is a late developer in his footballing career and he just keeps getting better with age.
Having started out at Chester-le-Street Town Graham then moved to Middlesbrough at the age of 18 years old where he managed to make 15 appearances and score only once. To be fair to the guy he was loaned out to Darlington, Derby, Blackpool and Carlisle who after the loan decided to train with Martin O'Neil at Aston Villa but eventually O'Neil decided not to sign Graham and was soon snapped up by Carlisle United on a 2 year contract. A decision that Martin O'Neil probably regrets now. Graham then began to progress rapidly at Carlisle and ended up with a grand total of 29 goals in 89 appearances. At the end of Graham's 2 year contract after several desperate attempts from Carlisle to renew his contract, Graham moved on to Watford where he soon blossomed. A tribunal later decided that Watford should pay an initial £200,000 in compensation to Carlisle, which eventually rose to £350,000. Graham netted 38 times in 91 appearances for Watford in a team which at the time had a average age of 23. Graham's progress drew attention from QPR, Villa and Swansea. QPR had a £2.5m bid rejected but Swansea clinched the strikers signature for £3.5m. The rest is history.
Would Danny Graham fit in well at Norwich firstly? Norwich already have Grant Holt, Steve Morrison, Simeon Jackson and Harry Kane as strikers who don't have a lot of Premier League experience between them. The Canaries though this season have definitely been missing a added presence to Grant Holt in their attack. Partly down to the injury that Steve Morrison suffered at the beginning of the season who I think can be a outstanding player if played to his strengths. However does Chris Hughton trust the Welsh international with his goal-scoring record of 10 goals in 53 games. If Norwich do sign Danny Graham though will he be partnering Grant Holt in the Norwich attack? or will he be a subtle replacement for the Norwich captain? It's hard to think that Holt and Graham would be a effective pairing with both being similar types of players with similar abilities.
On the other hand Sunderland have been having a miserable season along with Tyneside rivals Newcastle and currently find themselves just 14th in the Premier League. Although recently Sunderland have found a bit of form their primary problem has been goals where they have been relying heavily on record signing Steven Fletcher. Martin O'Neil has attempted to address the situation by signing Louis Saha in the summer but it just hasn't worked out for him and with Frazier Campbell, Conner Wickham and James McFadden not finding their best form O'Neil is under pressure to go out hunting for another striker. He has been a long time admirer of Danny Graham from his days at Aston Villa and the Swansea man could well be the answer for Sunderland but it would be a big risk for Graham with fierce competition for starting places. Will he be guaranteed games up in the up at Sunderland? Another unfortunate factor for Martin O'Neil is that Graham happens to be a lifelong Newcastle fan and as seen in the picture below clearly isn't keen on the Black Cats.
Graham's other option hear will be to remain at Swansea. The big question for him at Swansea though is whether he is guaranteed games? As we've seen this season it is a different Swansea team to that of last season. With the introduction of Michu into the team which seems to have been a stroke of genius from Michael Laudrup, Graham is falling out of favour with the manager. Part of this has been down to a few minor injuries but I believe there is still a place in that Swansea team if he can take his game to the next level which is what he has been able to do for all of his career so far. Another point though would be whether Swansea can afford to lose him? Looking at the back up that there is for Michael Laudrup there doesn't seem to be a lot of depth with Leroy Lita and Luke Moore the only back up. If you take Michu at that Swansea side then it is difficult to see where goals will come from. A lot would be relied upon Danny Graham and it would be up to him to deliver.
He now faces a key decision in his time at Swansea as does Michael Laudrup over whether to let him go.
This is my 50th post so to everybody who has kept reading up to this point. A BIG THANK YOU IN CAPITAL LETTERS. (Chip)
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