Skip to content

Laudrup looking for goals

Image: Michael Laudrup: Swansea's new boss aware that he needs to bolster his attacking ranks

New Swansea boss Michael Laudrup admits adding goals to his squad will be a top priority this summer, with Gylfi Sigurdsson unlikely to return.

New Swans boss in the market for attacking talent

New Swansea boss Michael Laudrup admits adding goals to his squad will be a top priority this summer, with Gylfi Sigurdsson unlikely to return. The Swans had been hopeful of striking a deal for Sigurdsson, who shone during a loan spell last season, but have been forced to accept that he appears to be on his way elsewhere - with it likely that he will link up with Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool. That leaves Swansea short of creativity and a goal-threat in midfield - something Laudrup is well aware of. He will look to address that issue as a matter of urgency, with forward-thinking talent dominating his thoughts. "If Sigurdsson leaves, we will need an attacking midfielder but, more than that position, we need goals," he told the South Wales Evening Post. "We have to look at the players we have got and know more or less how many goals they will guarantee.

Cover

"You have to reach a certain number of goals otherwise you have to defend very, very well. "If you lose a player who scores seven, eight or nine goals, you have to find another one. "It is also good if you can find a player who can cover two or maybe three positions, because that makes it easier to change things." One of those being linked with a move to the Liberty Stadium is Denmark international Michael Krohn-Dehli, but Laudrup insists he will be looking further than the land of his birth for new recruits.
Potential
"Of course I want players that I have knowledge of, but if they are Danes, Dutch or Spanish, it is not the most important," he said. "I do not buy any players just because they are Danes. It should be someone who fits in, and then they must be good quality at a reasonable cost. "Of course money is important - to say it is not in football would be a lie. "But to find a good player with potential for a small amount of moment and then to develop him in the group is a great pleasure for a manager and for a club. "At Brondby we had Daniel Agger who came up from the youth. He had two years in the team and then we sold him to Liverpool for nearly £7 million, which is a lot of money in Denmark. "We also had (former Bolton striker) Johan Elmander and (Denmark midfielder) Thomas Kahlenberg, who has been playing in France. As a manager that gives you even greater satisfaction than winning something as a player."

Around Sky