Swansea City could rub salt in Cardiff City wounds with transfer deal for 18-goal ace | OneFootball

Swansea City could bolster their options up top with a move for Ricky-Jade Jones, who had been a target for bitter rivals Cardiff City.

Swansea City will start next season a division higher than bitter rivals Cardiff City for the first time since the 2017/18 campaign.

Whilst the season that has just finished was a turbulent one for the Swans, they ultimately ended 11th, and many fans took great delight at watching their fierce rivals drop down to the third tier.

Now, though, the focus is on giving new boss Alan Sheehan the best chance to succeed by backing him in the market, and trying to widen the gap that exists between the two Welsh clubs in the process.

Swansea City should consider move for former Cardiff City target

A potentially exciting window awaits for Swansea, who have Luka Modric as a minority investor.

The aim for Sheehan will be to build a team that is capable of challenging for the play-offs, and several areas will need to be addressed for that to become a reality.

However, most would agree the most pressing issue is up front, as the Swans lack a clinical goalscorer.

Only Liam Cullen hit double figures last season, which highlights the problem, and even though there will be an expectation that Zan Vipotnik will get better, they still need reinforcements.

And, one player who could improve the Swans is Ricky-Jade Jones. The Peterborough striker is out of contract in a matter of weeks and is set to leave, so he is a particularly attractive option on a free transfer.

Jones found the net 18 times in all competitions last season, and it seems inevitable that he will make the step up to the Championship.

Ricky-Jade Jones would provide different threat for Swansea City

A key reason why the 22-year-old would be such a good fit for Swansea is his searing pace.

It’s well-documented that Jones is one of the fastest players on the planet, and that would allow Swansea to play in a different way.

Over the years, they have been a team that generally keeps the ball well and builds possession slowly, but under Sheehan there are signs he will make a few tweaks.

Notably, they will look to get the ball forward quicker, and whilst that’s by no means a long ball approach, they will try to stretch play and look in behind, which could be suited to Jones’ game.

He is a constant threat with his willingness to play on the last man, and that will alter how teams set up against the Swans.

Jones’ presence will cause the opposition to sit deeper, so the likes of Eom Ji-Sung, Cullen and Goncalo Franco will have more space in the final third to cause problems.

So, Jones seems to tick a lot of boxes for Swansea, and, to make things sweeter, they would be signing a player that Cardiff were desperate to bring in during the January transfer window.

Of course, that is a minor thing in the bigger picture, but it would leave Cardiff wondering what might have been, and show that, for now at least, Swansea are a more attractive option to their rivals.