Swansea City: Wycombe Wanderers deal a matter of urgency after Luke Williams’ Cardiff City reveal | OneFootball

Swansea City face the prospect of facing Cardiff City with no fit centre-backs

Swansea City travel to Cardiff City on Saturday for the second South Wales Derby of the season, and Luke Williams faces the nightmare situation of having no senior centre-backs available.

After their defeat to Southampton on Sunday, the Swansea boss revealed that centre-backs Ben Cabango and Harry Darling were unavailable and that they were doubts for the trip to Cardiff this coming Saturday.

With Nelson Abbey being recalled from his loan by Olympiacos at the beginning of the month, and Kristian Pedersen, who can also play in central defence out injured, it means the Swans face the very realistic prospect of playing the biggest game of the season without a centre-back in the squad.

As it stands, Swansea only have two out-and-out centre-backs in their squad anyway, something that Williams will be looking to resolve this month anyway, but the injury situation puts a further focus on bolstering their centre-back ranks.

Swansea have been linked with a move for Wycombe Wanderers centre-back Joe Low this month, and given their injury crisis in central defence, Williams will want to complete a deal to sign the Welshman urgently.

Even if he was signed this week, it remains to be seen whether he'd be in the frame to feature on Saturday at the Cardiff City Stadium, but it would be a huge psychological boost for the Swans and raise spirits after some tough results in recent weeks.

Cardiff-born Low would surely relish the chance to play against his hometown club for their biggest rivals, and it would be a huge boost to Williams who faces the possibility of playing the game without a recognised centre-back.

Football Insider have reported that Swansea have seen two bids rejected for the 22-year-old, but given the injury situation and uncertainty over Darling's future with his contract set to expire, the Swans can't low-ball Wycombe any longer and should meet their asking price urgently.

The two bids turned down were reportedly in the region of £500,000 and £600,000, and while Swansea don't have huge money to throw around this month, they could surely meet the Chairboys' valuation.

Low is said to be keen to move to the Championship, and Swansea would be kicking themselves if they missed out on Low to a Championship rival because they weren't prepared to meet the asking price.

Preston and Plymouth are said to be keen on Low too, and it would be slightly embarrassing for Swansea's new owners if they missed out to two sides who are arguably less attractive clubs.

Injuries to Cabango and Darling should force Swansea's hand, and they should be looking to wrap a deal up for Low urgently.

Joe Low would be a perfect signing for Swansea City this month - but ideally before Saturday

Low is young, Welsh and talented, meaning he's not just someone who will strengthen Swansea's squad now, but they could sell him for more money in the future.

Swansea have had success with buying players from League One in recent years, with Darling himself coming from MK Dons after a successful 2021/22 League One campaign, while Josh Key has impressed since joining from Exeter City in the summer of 2023.

Flynn Downes was signed from then League One side Ipswich Town in the summer of 2021, and he was sold to Premier League side West Ham for a fee of £12million just a year later, so it shows that Swansea could realistically make a huge profit on Low.

If Swansea's new owners need any encouragement to fork out the extra money that Wycombe want for Low, they should look at what happened in January 2022, when Swansea's owners were unwilling to meet the asking price for MK Dons' Matt O'Riley, who has since gone onto achieve big things with Celtic and Brighton, and it's a mistake they can ill-afford to make again.

The player seems keen to take the next step in his career and that's moving to the Championship, and he's a signing Swansea must make this month, particularly with recent injuries.

The hierarchy at the Swansea.com Stadium need to put their money where their mouth is this month, and bringing Low to the club would be an excellent way to kickstart their January business.