Luke Williams urges Swansea City to sort contract for star who reminds him of Gareth Bale

Luke Williams has urged Swansea City to tie down 'exciting player' Josh Key to a new deal before he enters the final 12 months of his current contract.

The Swans boss has been hugely impressed by the full-back's recent run of form, and there's a growing feeling that he could well be the next high-value asset, having emerged as a key player this season.

He is set to enter the final 12 months of his current deal next term, although the club do hold the option of an added 12 months. However, Williams has urged the club to act before the end of the current campaign, having already seen several first-team players enter the final years of their current deals.

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The club are already working on new contracts for Harry Darling and Ben Cabango, both of whom are free agents this summer, and Williams is keen to ensure there's no repeat this time around.

"I certainly wouldn’t want us to go into that sort of scenario with Josh Key," he said. "As you can imagine, we talk about the squad all the time.

"We have had conversations already and we’ve all recognised his level of performance. I really don’t think it will go down to the same type of scenario as we have had with one or two other players.

"We have a little bit of a break in the schedule coming up so potentially this is a good time, because it can be distracting for the players. We have a little bit more calm so it might be a good time for us to talk a bit more."

Key has emerged as a standout performer for the Swans, and was impressive again in the 1-0 defeat to Burnley on Sunday. He has so far started all but two of Swansea's opening 15 league games, and is clearly an integral part of Williams' plans.

"He’s an exciting player," he added. "He’s supposed to be playing right-back but I don’t think anyone told Josh that.

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"He looks to me like he’s enjoying his football but he’s concentrating. He's focused on the game, he's not out there playing like a free spirit.

"But he’s confident in his ability. He understands what he can and can’t do.

"I think he’s performing at a very high level and he’s a very exciting player to watch."

Williams has even compared Key's progress to the early steps made by a certain legend of Welsh football.

"He's like a Gareth Bale-type," he added. "There was a period at Tottenham where Harry Redknapp forgot to tell him he was full-back and just told him he was in the team.

"He interpreted that as 'I'll just do whatever I want then', in a good way I mean of course.

"It's enjoyable to see Josh Key expressing himself in the way he has been and with the level of concentration and focus for the team."