Steve Cooper | We'll only make moves if right opportunities arise

7th January
First team
Steve Cooper Norwich

Head coach Steve Cooper believes Swansea City could bolster its squad with some January additions following the premature end to two loan spells.

With Kasey Palmer being recalled by parent club Bristol City and Morgan Gibbs-White returning to Wolves, it leaves Cooper two options short in attacking midfield.

The Swans, meanwhile, have recalled centre-back Brandon Cooper from his successful loan stint with Newport County in League Two.

Asked if he expects to do any business in the current transfer window, Cooper insisted the Swans will swoop if the right opportunity arises.

Steve Cooper QPR

“I think there’s a few positions I would like to add to," said Cooper. "But until we do it then we'll carry on working with the boys. At the moment we have got every base filled, if you like.

"Maybe we need cover in some positions - every manager will give you the same answer this week.

"If there’s a chance to do some business that we think is right then we’ll do it.

“I don’t think it’s straightforward in January anyway to get players in. We’ll see. We will try and do something. If we do them then great. If we don’t, we carry on.”

Morgan Gibbs-White Watford

Gibbs-White’s exit comes after the midfielder returned from a lengthy spell on the sidelines, with the 20-year-old featuring from the last five minutes of last weekend’s 2-1 win over Watford.

He made six appearances in all for the Swans, with Gibbs-White marking his debut with the winning goal at Preston on the opening day.

His return comes following a glut of injuries at Molineux, and he could feature for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side in their FA Cup tie against Crystal Palace on Friday night.

Palmer, meanwhile, heads back to Ashton Gate having made 12 appearances for the Swans, scoring once in the victory over Stoke City at the Liberty.

Kasey Palmer

“With Kasey and Morgan, it’s just a situation, you do run the risk of losing players if they’re not yours,” said Cooper. “I’ve said in the past, down the line, we need to come away from having loans.

“Each window we need to be signing permanent players and building our own team. Loans are a necessity at the moment and we’re benefiting from it. But the long-term view is to have our own squad with our players. But we’re not at that stage.

“We worked hard to get Morgan. Even though he’s not been able to play as much as everyone would have liked, I firmly believe he would have been as good as anyone in the league once he got going. But that hasn’t happened. There’s been a lot of recalls across the league, though.”

Brandon Cooper

Following a successful time in League Two with Newport, Brandon Cooper is back in SA1 although he can’t feature in this weekend’s trip to Stevenage as he’s cup-tied.

The 20-year-old benefited hugely from 25 appearances for the Exiles, scoring once, while he was also named the EFL Young Player of the Month in October as he shone in Michael Flynn’s starting XI.

“We didn’t really want to do it to Flynny and Newport - the loan was working well,” added the Swans boss. “He was playing really well and Newport were benefitting. But, unfortunately, being the parent club, as we’ve felt all sides this week, we felt it was better for us if he spent the rest of the season with us.

“He’s in our longer-term plans anyway and he comes back in better shape.”