There's still plenty of work to be done over the coming weeks
Richard Kone remains a serious target for Swansea City this summer
(Image: Getty Images)
After a little bit of a lull, Swansea City's summer transfer window looks to be hotting up once again.
And with good reason too. If there's anything at all to take away from Swansea's pre-season outings over the last couple of weeks, it's that depth is still a real problem for Alan Sheehan ahead of the new season.
The captures of Zeidane Inoussa, Bobby Wales, Cameron Burgess, Ricardo Santos, and Ethan Galbraith have all looked shrewd acquisitions, and their swift arrivals clearly helped elevate the levels of excitement around the club ahead of the new campaign. Sign up to our Swansea City newsletter here.
But injury concerns to captain Ben Cabango and Ricardo Santos, both of whom now look to be doubts for the start of the season, have given Sheehan a particularly pertinent selection concern ahead of the weekend's opener with Middlesbrough.
The club have now completed a move for West Ham United youngster Kaelan Casey, which will offer Sheehan potentially big boost ahead of the new campaign, with Burgess previously their only recognised centre-back option.
Further signings at full-back are likely to also be on the agenda with options outside Josh Key and Josh Tymon looking a little thin. Sam Parker is likely to be handed the opportunity to shine there at some point, while new signing Galbraith is capable of slotting in there, although clearly calling upon the Northern Irishman would greatly reduce his influence in the middle of the park.
Further midfield reinforcements could yet be something the club look at, having seen hopes of bringing Lewis O'Brien back to the club evaporate this summer.
When newly-promoted Wrexham entered the fray, there was never really any chance of the Swans striking a deal, and while they kept a close eye on developments, they had effectively already moved on by the time he was paraded at the Racecourse.
Swansea have also shown an interest in Liverpool youngster James McConnell, but sources have suggested his recent injury, which kept him out of the Reds' pre-season tour of Asia, might have dented City's enthusiasm. Sign up to the Swansea City WhatsApp service to get breaking news and top stories sent to your phone.
Our colleagues at the Liverpool Echo have also claimed that highly-rated 21-year-old Luca Stephenson might also be a potential target, having recently returned from a largely successful loan spell at Dundee United.
The level of Swansea's alleged interest, at this stage, however, is not yet known.
The club are certainly still interested in striker Richard Kone, however.
Sources close to negotiations claim Swansea have already had two bids knocked back, but are expected to return with a third bid over the coming days.
The latest offer to be knocked back is understood to stand at around £4.5m, and Wycombe are seemingly holding out for £5m.
Swansea are still very much in the frame, but they do face competition.
A number of other sides have also made enquiries this summer, while Leicester City are understood to be pushing ahead with talks. At the time of writing, however, they haven't yet firmed up interest with a bid.
Swansea appear to be further down the line in negotiations, but there's clearly plenty of work to be done before a deal can be completed, with developments expected this week.
For what it's worth, a move to south Wales is believed to be of interest to the player, who was last season named League One Player of the Year, but everything is still on the table at the moment.
The need for a striker has grown this week following a toe injury to Zan Vipotnik, which could potentially keep him out of the start of the season, leaving Liam Cullen as the only viable option to lead the line.
Oli McBurnie is a name that's been on quite a few lips, but Swansea don't appear to be genuine contenders for his signature at this stage, despite reports elsewhere suggesting otherwise.
Finances have always been the key hurdle to bringing the Scot back to the Swansea.com Stadium, and there's nothing to suggest at this stage that it's an obstacle they will push to overcome.
A move hasn't been categorically ruled out, but unless the landscape radically changes, it feels an unlikely one.
Meanwhile, there's potentially further exits on the cards.
Jerry Yates and Florian Bianchini have become the latest to depart, while Josh Ginnelly could soon follow suit.
The winger hasn't featured in any of the club's pre-season friendlies this summer, and was also left out of the recent training camp in Spain.