Nacer Chadli would be a great fit for the Swans
Following Gylfi Sigurdsson’s £45 million departure, Swansea City have been highly linked with a move for West Bromwich Albion’s Nacer Chadli and it’s a move I’d really like to see happen.
Chadli has enjoyed success with Standard Liege, Tottenham Hotspur and the Belgium national team, and despite a mixed campaign at West Brom last season, it’s clear to see he’s got a bit of quality about him.
Firstly, he started very well at The Hawthorns last term, netting twice and assisting twice on his debut for the club in a comfortable victory over West Ham. Although after his early season form, his performances dropped off and he had little impact on the Baggies during their bad run in the second-half of the campaign.
However, it’s clear to see that he’s not suited to West Brom. Chadli’s a ball-player, he enjoys building an attack with his feet, he’s keen to get forward and link the midfield to the strikers and make things happen in the box. He didn’t really get that chance under Tony Pulis, whose game-plans are often all about physicality and lumping it into the box.
It’s a bit of a waste of Chadli being in a team that doesn’t play to his strengths and therefore he doesn’t play to his potential. Even so, five goals and five assists isn’t a terrible return in a West Brom squad where he isn’t suited to.
The 28-year-old was highly rated at Spurs too. Despite not being a regular, he was always prolific and netted 11 goals and bagged five assists in the 2014/15 Premier League season, whilst also starring in the Europa League at White Hart Lane.
It’s also worth noting that Chadli done a lot better at Tottenham than Sigurdsson did during his time there. As mentioned before, he wasn’t a regular name in the starting XI in North London, however he was always a useful option in a very good Spurs side and the fans were disappointed to see him leave.
Chadli’s versatility would be a huge plus. He could easily slot into Paul Clement’s 4-4-2 diamond as the attacking midfielder, or going into a 4-3-3, he can comfortably feature on the wing. In the Swansea squad, we would see the best of the Belgian.
Playing good football with the likes of Leon Britton, Roque Mesa and Tom Carroll giving him the ball, offering themselves and creating space, Chadli could thrive in the Swans’ attack, with the freedom to play football and get forward to provide goals and assists.
Also, with a potential strike-force of Fernando Llorente, Jordan Ayew, Tammy Abraham – and maybe even Wilfried Bony in there, as reports claim – there’s plenty of players that Chadli could work well with.
Okay, the Baggies have slapped a £25 million price-tag on him. Maybe the Swans could try and get a deal done for a little less than that, but forgetting about the price in this crazy transfer market, Chadli would definitely improve the current Swansea squad and would fit in very well at the Liberty Stadium in my opinion.
We could do a lot worse than acquiring the 35-capped Belgium international!