New Signings Fit to Play (Which is a Relief)

Swansea City boss Carlos Carvalhal has confirmed that deadline day signings Andre Ayew and Andy King are both fit and available for selection.

It’s a relief and a bonus for us as we were recently hit with the news that midfielder Leroy Fer and striker Wilfried Bony both picked up injuries during the 1-1 draw at Leicester City that will keep them out for the rest of the season.

Andy King can replace Leroy Fer, while Andre Ayew seems like an obvious replacement for Bony. Although, given Bony’s fitness troubles, I’d have expected Andre to have come in ahead of him in the pecking order anyway.

In Thursday’s pre-match press conference, Carvalhal said:

“It is possible they will be in the team or in the squad of 18. They are both ready to play,” he said.

“They have trained very well. They are very good players and very good characters also.

“They are completely integrated into the team already and they can be involved for the first time this weekend.”

Andy King will probably have a better chance of starting over Andre Ayew, given that Leroy Fer was a regular starter under Carvalhal, who won’t want to make too many changes to a team who are performing well and picking up points consistently.

The likes of Nathan Dyer and Tammy Abraham staked their claim for starting places, while Luciano Narsingh also looked encouraging after a quiet start to the game against Notts County – a stunning 8-1 FA Cup 4th round replay win against the League Two outfit.

Some people may dismiss and play down the huge victory, but Spurs only managed a 2-0 replay win over Newport County this week, the Welsh side are 11th – 7 places below Notts County in League 2.

No doubt scoring eight goals in any game, and scoring the goals in the style and fashion they did will surely boost confidence. Abraham has been very quiet for months now. Injuries haven’t helped and he dropped out of the first team, but 2 goals plus 2 assists will go a long way in answering Carvalhal’s recent calls for the young Chelsea forward to step up in Bony’s absence.