Swansea struggles go on as Hibs eye Kuharevich

Mykola Kuharevich is attracting interest from Hibernian but it is unclear whether Swansea City will let the striker leave as their struggle to recruit players continues.

Kuharevich, 23, is yet to start a game for Swansea since signing from Troyes 12 months ago.

The Championship club will consider letting the Ukrainian leave this summer, though his exit would leave yet another vacancy in an already thin squad.

Kuharevich has scored once in 13 substitute appearances for Swansea, but netted five times in 15 Hibs games during a loan spell with the Scottish Premiership club in 2022-23.

Swansea have offloaded 12 senior players since the end of last season and have so far brought in just three new faces – goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux, midfielder Goncalo Franco and forward Eom Ji-Sung.

Vigouroux is the club’s only fit senior keeper after Andy Fisher picked up an injury during their pre-season trip to Austria.

Of the four centre-backs who finished last season in Swansea’s squad, only Ben Cabango and Harry Darling remain at the club, while 35-year-old Kyle Naughton appears to be their primary cover for full-backs Josh Key and Josh Tymon.

Kristian Pedersen and Nathan Tjoe-A-On are available, though both those players are yet to establish themselves at Swansea. The two left-sided defenders were sent out on loan in January having only joined the Welsh club last summer.

The arrival of Franco means Swansea are reasonably well-stocked in central midfield, though Joe Allen was one of seven players not involved in Tuesday’s open training session at the Swansea.com Stadium due to fitness issues.

Swansea’s options out wide are limited, with Ronald and long-term absentee Josh Ginnelly also among the group of players currently unavailable.

Up front, Liam Cullen is the favourite to start the Championship opener at Middlesbrough on Saturday, 10 August, with Kuharevich looking like the only alternative for that role as things stand.

Head coach Luke Williams has been desperate to recruit a new centre-forward, with Swansea allowing Jerry Yates – who signed in a deal worth about £3m last summer – to join Derby County on loan earlier this month.

They also said farewell to Jamal Lowe, their joint leading scorer alongside Yates in 2023-24 - after his loan from Bournemouth came to an end.

Swansea are also thought to be eyeing defensive recruits and wide players, while they may have to move for another senior keeper depending on the extent of Fisher’s injury.

Following criticism from some fans over Swansea’s work in the January transfer window, chairman Andy Coleman told BBC Sport in February that “there were vital pieces missing from the scouting and the data side” of the club’s transfer set-up last summer.

"Now I feel we are getting them in place, each window we progress, we will be able to utilise those tools and take advantage earlier,” he added at the time.

"We've already started working on the summer, be it pre-contracts and targets. you name it, we are now in a better position to move earlier which I think is ultimately what we all want to focus on.”

Allen, Ronald and Ginnelly all did bike work on the side of the pitch during Swansea’s open training session, as did Kuharevich, Naughton and young winger Aimar Govea.

Teenager Sam Parker, who like Govea made his senior debut last season, was not involved in the session, and neither was former MK Dons player Fisher.