Former Glentoran striker completes permanent move to Championship club
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Wales Online
a day ago
- Wales Online
Swansea City 1-0 Sheffield United: Ronald strike hands hosts first win of new season
Swansea City are up and running in the Championship after battling their way to a fine win over Sheffield United at a sweltering Stadium. Brazilian winger Ronald followed up his goal in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday with another strike here, popping up midway through the second half to fire home to hand City their first Championship win of the season. Swansea had lost each of their last five league games against the Blades, but were defensively pretty comfortable against Sheffield United side perhaps still reeling from their 4-1 defeat to Bristol City on the opening day. It's a victory that will delight Swans boss Alan Sheehan, particularly after their disappointing opening gambit up at Middlesbrough last weekend. The Irishman made just one change from the toothless display at the Riverside, with exciting teenager Malick Yalcouye handed his Swans debut from the off The Ivorian enjoyed a somewhat mixed first Championship outing, but he certainly had his moments against a Sheffield United side that did little to justify their tag as promotion contenders, turning in a largely off-colour showing in the Welsh sunshine. Yalcouye was playing Champions League football last term, so managing expectation might well be the key challenge for Sheehan and co. Then again, the midfielder did start the move that ultimately concluded with Josh Tymon firing wide from Ronald's deflected cross after just a minute. It wasn't a flash in the pan for Swansea, either. Indeed, they were the better side during a lively opening 15 minutes. Yalcouye saw a shot blocked after breaking free down the left, before Ronald's effort on the rebound was similarly charged down. Aside from dealing with a couple of crosses, Lawrence Vigouroux had very little to do for much of the afternoon, although Sheffield United did have their moments. Harrison Burrows saw a deflected effort from 25 yards deflected wide, before sending a daisy-cutter off the back-tracking Franco from the resulting corner. Swansea, though, started the second half much the same was as the first. Josh Key, Eom Jisung and Cameron Burgess all saw shots blocked in quick succession following a panic-inducing freekick into the United box just four minutes after the restart. But City weren't to be denied, and finally took the lead just after the hour. Substitute Zeidane Inoussa was the architect, producing a fine run into the box before squaring for Liam Cullen, whose initial shot was blocked, only for the onrushing Ronald to steer home the rebound. Melker Widell then dragged a shot wide as Swansea looked to kill the game off, but a single goal proved enough to hand the Swans a thoroughly-deserved three points. Swansea City: Vigouroux; Key, Cabango (c), Burgess, Tymon; Franco, Yalcouye (Widell 62); Ronald (Fulton 90), Galbraith, Eom (Inoussa 62); Cullen (Wales 90+7) Subs: Fisher, Vipotnik, Casey, Cooper, Sheffield United: Cooper; Seriki, Bindon, Robinson, Burrows; Soumare, Peck, Hamer; O'Hare, Campbell (Cannon 62), Barry Subs: Davies, McCallum, Brooks, Ukaki, One, Curtis, Norrington-Davies, Hampson
Wales Online
2 days ago
- Wales Online
'One of the greatest talents' - new Swansea City signing's reviews are off the scale
'One of the greatest talents' - new Swansea City signing's reviews are off the scale The youngster already has a hugely impressive CV, but could already be faced with a sky-high level of expectation Malick Yalcouye arrives with a big reputation (Image: Swansea City) For all the noise, it's easy to forget that Malick Yalcouye's career is still largely in its infancy. Indeed, it feels like wherever the 19-year-old has been, he's left a trail of rave reviews and awe-inspired gawping in his wake, a trail that has now led to Swansea City. Given the midfielder was posing with a Player of the Match accolade in the Champions League against Borussia Dortmund last season, this unquestionably feels like a coup for the Swans, and perhaps makes a big statement about the pull of the club. Sign up to our Swansea City newsletter here. It also feels like a ringing endorsement from Brighton, who would surely have a strong claim to the title of the best run club in the country. Albion's recruitment has been at the foundation of their recent success, with the club creating what feels like a perpetual conveyor belt of hidden gems. These players are polished, sold on for enormous sums, and swiftly replaced by another leftfield talent—often just as good, or even better. It's a system Swans director of football Richard Montague would probably like to replicate, and that synergy in outlooks might well go some way to explaining why City were seen as the best fit for Yalcouye's next step. Article continues below Following in the footsteps of Emmanuel Eboue, Gervinho and the Toure brothers, the midfielder came through the ranks of Ivorian side ASEC Mimosas, before making the move to Sweden in January 2024. The Ivorian made just 11 senior appearances for previous side Goteburg before Brighton made the decision to swoop in, but he more than made his mark on the Allsvenskan as Daniel Kristoffersson of Swedish publication Sportbladet explained. 'He is one of the greatest talents we've ever seen in the Swedish league's history," he told Albion's official website shortly after his move to Sussex. "Swedish clubs have a history of signing African players from ASEC Mimosas but no one has made such a big impact in such a short time as Malick did. 'He adapted very quickly at Goteborg. He reads the game so well, is quick off the mark, is very energetic, can go box-to-box, is an effective presser, has good close control, likes to take on his opponent, and has good technique. 'His time there [Goteborg] has been excellent. Nobody would have expected him to have such a big impact on the team and the league so fast. Sometimes when a player arrives from Africa, they take time to adapt, sometimes half a year or a year. But with Malick, it was just four or five games. 'He can be very creative and adapt quickly to how his team wants him to play. He may not be ready to start for Brighton right now, as the Premier League is a very physically demanding league so I think he will need to add more muscle, but I think he can be great for the club with time and patience.' Sheehan himself has backed Yalcouye for the Premier League, and the fact Brighton handed him a five-year deal when he signed last summer is indicative of the faith Albion have in him. Charismatic Brighton boss Fabian Hürzeler clearly believes he has a bright future. 'I'm a big, big fan of him," he told The Athletic back in January. "Because I experienced (in Japan) a young player who comes from a different culture, who was not speaking the language perfectly, and understands the game in a really special way. 'Especially for his very young age. He is so competitive, has such a good understanding of game situations, and that is something special for such a young player. He always gives 100 per cent. 'When he was here, he trained as if it was his last session. That is exactly what a young player needs to do: use every game, every training, every minute that he can be outside on the pitch. He is a role model for that, which is why I am a big fan.' There was certainly plenty of adoration for the teenager on the terraces in Graz, where Yalcouye more than played his part in the club's second consecutive Bundesliga title. With his courageous performances, he quickly won the hearts of the Black and White fans," raved local outlet Kleine Zeitung. "Hardly any defender could match the lively African, and he repeatedly showed flashes of his class last season. It's quite possible that Yalcouye will also make a splash in the Premier League." Earlier in the season, the same outlet claimed he played "as if he were a 30-year-old veteran with 400 professional games under his belt. "In short: Yalcouye is actually too good for Austria's Bundesliga as he stands out from the best domestic team.' High praise indeed, but with high praise comes a certain level of expectation. Sign up to the Swansea City WhatsApp service to get breaking news and top stories sent to your phone. Managing that expectation could well be the main challenge when it comes to his time in SA1. Article continues below "He's a player that's trained with us and fitted in really well," head coach Alan Sheehan said this week when quizzed on that point. "It's just how we decide to use him. I have my ideas in the games and how we see him being effective for us." Nevertheless, if he can make the same sort of mark on Swansea as he has elsewhere, there's every reason for Swans fans to get very, very excited.
Wales Online
3 days ago
- Wales Online
Swansea City transfer update as details on striker search released and duo tied down
Swansea City transfer update as details on striker search released and duo tied down The club are hoping to land a new striker before the close of the window Richard Montague has been speaking about Swansea's striker search (Image: Swansea City) Swansea City's director of football Richard Montague says the club are scouring the market for undervalued options in their ongoing striker search. The Swans are keen to add more firepower to their ranks this summer, having already moved on the likes of Mykola Kuharevich and Jerry Yates, but have so far been unable to find a breakthrough. There was interest in both Wycombe Wanderers star Richard Kone and former Swan Oli McBurnie in recent weeks, but both players have gone elsewhere. Sign up to our Swansea City newsletter here. Swedish striker Jusef Erabi is another player to have been looked at, while reports on the continent have mentioned Schalke's Moussa Sylla as a possible option. Montague, who faced supporters as a part of a three-man panel at Wednesday's Swansea City Fan Forum, says the club will stick to their principles in the search for a new forward, and gave supporters a quick insight into the processes being applied. "You obviously have some parameters that you think are the most important aspects of the profile you're trying to build," Montague said. "If you're trying to sign a striker, you might speak to the head coach, and you get his feedback on what he wants from the position. Article continues below "Then you try to build a profile on the back of that to say 'we're looking for this type of player'. "At our club, as with many clubs these days, you use data to filter players down and you try and work through those players and scout those players, gathering intelligence as you go about the expectations around what the cost of that player might be, and how easy a deal will be to do. "Then I think it's a lot of working with the coaching staff to understand which ones they like, and for the scouts to understand what we play like, and try to bring all that information together to come up with a valuation that we think is fair. "Hopefully then you can identify someone who is going to be good value and is going to be cheaper than what you think they should be. They are the types you can go after." Swansea are understood to be closing in on an eighth signing of the summer, with Malick Yalcouye poised to join on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion. However, there are also discussions on going with players already in the building, with Montague revealing the club have now triggered options on the contracts of Josh Key and Josh Tymon, meaning they are now tied down to the club for another 12 months. Both players joined the club in the summer in 2023, where they signed three-year deals, meaning they were due to become free agents at the end of the season. Montague says the ambition is for both players to also sign longer-term contracts. "They both have an option year in their contracts and we have exercised the option, so they both have two years left with us at the very least," he said. Sign up to the Swansea City WhatsApp service to get breaking news and top stories sent to your phone. "We will be having conversations with those guys and their representatives in the coming months because obviously we don't want to be in that situation where those contracts are winding down." Meanwhile, conversations are also ongoing over a new deal for youngster Cameron Congreve, whose deal runs out next summer. "We have had conversations with Cam's agent and Cam himself about his future," Montague added. Article continues below "That's an active source of discussion at the moment."
