Meet the first non-striker Swansea want to reinvest Bony cash on
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There’s no doubt Garry Monk’s hand was forced into letting Manchester City pilfer his best player, but armed with a pretty penny from Wilfried Bony’s sale, the Swansea boss is busy tracking down replacements.
It may raise an eyebrow or two among the Swans faithful to learn that Monk’s principal target is not a striker, though, rather a midfielder.
It’s widely reported that Stuttgart’s attacking-mid Alexandru Maxim will shortly become the subject of a £5m bid from the Welsh club, but is he the new Michu or even more of a gamble?
The Romanian certainly has age on his side at 24, though his goals record since signing for the Bundesliga outfit is fairly modest.
After bagging seven league goals last season, Maxim has only contributed a single strike for Stuttgart this term as the club have generally struggled towards the dangerous end of the table.
However, Monk’s thinking is sure to be more along the lines of adding creativity rather than purely goals, as 11 assists during 2013/14 and four during the current campaign would attest.
It appears Swansea’s former player, turned touchline patroller, wishes to put faith in loan signings Bafetimbi Gomis and January addition Nelson Oliveira to directly replace the goals quota normally provided by the departed Bony.
Maxim had previously been on the radar of Liverpool last season and although his stats during the current campaign have waned slightly, Monk may well be able to coax more out of him at the Liberty.
Monk’s immediate challenge however, is attempting to get one over Premier League leaders Chelsea next in Wales, by defying odds of 5/1 for a famous victory.
A tough ask without Bony to call upon.
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