Swansea City weighing up move to buck transfer trend as Luke Williams admits exit could happen
Luke Williams admits there's a chance the club may well be more active in the loan market this January, but insists the club will take a balanced approach to strengthening their squad this winter.
The Swans brought just two players in on loan over the summer, as part of a conscious effort to reduce their reliance on loan players.
Indeed, the club had a whopping six loanees on their books at one point last season, which inevitably left a big hole at the end of the campaign, and Williams is clearly keen to ensure he isn't left with another significant rebuilding job next term.
READ MORE: Swansea City make contact with January targets as Luke Williams reveals what he wants
However, at the same time, the Swans boss admits the right loan move could well help to elevate levels within his squad.
"I think what we're talking about is balance," Williams said when asked about possibly being more active in the loan market this winter. "I think at one point last season we had more than our maximum, so some of them had to be out of the squad.
"In this way, you don't have so many assets in the team that can potentially protect the club in the future, or actually make one season a really big season for the club.
"How much was Joel Piroe? How much was Flynn Downes, for example? If you sell two players like that in one season, you potentially build the best squad you've had for years, but you can only achieve that if those guys are in the team, playing regular football and not backed up behind a loan player.
"At the same time, when you've maxed out what you have that you own, that's yours, then you can bolster the squad with some really accurate loans. This is a really good balance and really sensible.
"I think Myles Peart-Harris has been a wonderful loan for us. A wonderful example because he's played very much as if he has a Swan tattooed on this chest and he's got great quality and he's bought into everyone. He's a terrific character, brilliant, and he performs really, really well. This is a perfect loan because there was a gap, we needed a player because we'd maxed out what we had contracted in the building.
"So we brought a brilliant player in on loan and he's going to give us a great service."
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Meanwhile, Williams has suggested one of his current loanees could well be recalled when the January window re-opens.
One likely candidate to leave is centre-back Nelson Abbey, who has struggled to make his mark in a Swans shirt since arriving from Olympiakos.
Abbey hasn't made a single first-team appearance since a difficult debut in the League Cup defeat to Wycombe Wanderers earlier in the season, and a return to his parent club appears to be a real possibility given such lack of game time.
"I won't talk about them individually, but yes, there are some terms in contracts that potentially will be triggered, and we're ready for that," he said.
"I think in general when players are happy and they're playing a lot minutes, clubs tend to see that as a positive thing and not disrupt that. Whatever the clauses are in the contract, they're often overlooked if everyone's happy because happy players that perform well end up being more valuable."
