Swansea City snubbing Fulham transfer opportunity looks more baffling now: View | OneFootball

Swansea City turned down the chance to sign Cyrus Christie in the summer of 2022, but he's now on trial with the club

Cyrus Christie could be set for a second spell at Swansea City with it recently emerging that the Irish international is currently on trial with the club after being released by Hull City in the summer.

Christie joined Swansea on loan from Fulham in January 2022, and he enjoyed a successful short-term loan in south Wales, becoming a mainstay in Russell Martin's side as the Swans enjoyed a decent finish to the season, but a permanent move never materialised.

Plenty of supporters would love to have seen Christie join on a permanent basis following his loan spell, and despite his release by Fulham in the summer of 2022, Swansea took a different route and the right-back would instead join Hull City.

However, two-and-a-half years on, free agent Christie is now on trial with the Swans along with fellow experienced Championship man Adam Reach, and given the fact they turned down the chance to sign him in the summer of 2022, it's understandable why some Swansea supporters are baffled why they're now potentially about to sign him.

That's not a slight on Christie's ability at all, and he'd certainly be a good addition, but more a dig at the club's haphazard recruitment strategy which has led them to this position.

Swansea City's 2022 Cyrus Christie snub is baffling in hindsight

Christie made the right-back berth his own during his stay in south Wales, and he started all 23 games he was eligible for during the second half of the 2021/22 season, scoring three times and registering five assists, including two assists in Swansea's memorable 4-0 rout away to Cardiff City.

He became a popular figure amongst the Jack Army, and it was apparent that Martin was keen to sign him on a permanent basis, only to be told by the club's owners that he couldn't due to Christie's age.

The irony isn't lost on supporters that when the Irish international was 29 he was too old to sign, but now he's 32 they could well sign him on a permanent basis.

Speaking to The Beautiful Game podcast about his time in south Wales, Christie explained what actually happened in the summer of 2022. He said: “I was loving it there, I enjoyed it. It made me change the way I was thinking at that time and how I’d been for the last few years.

"Swansea said to me that they wanted to sign me after a few games, I was up for it and said 'yeah, let’s talk'. Then it went quiet, and nothing was happening.

“I then got to the end of the season and before the last game of the season the manager said to me 'the owners don’t want to sign you'.

“One of the owners said 'you’re too old'. The other owner wanted to sign me, but he said there is no value. At the time I’m 29, but I haven’t hit the 30-mark at this point, and I was a bit baffled, I said 'fair enough'."

Given the fact he'd been released by Fulham in the summer of 2022 and was a free agent, Swansea turning down the chance to sign Christie proved a poor call, with Matty Sorinola being recruited instead, who wasn't at the same level and perhaps the Irishman would have been the difference between reaching the play-offs or not during the 2022/23 campaign.

It looks as if Christie could finally join on a permanent basis, making the decision to snub him in 2022 a baffling one. The fact a 29-year-old was too old, but two-and-a-half years on, he's fine to sign highlights the lack of plan Swansea's owners and recruitment team have, and understandably a number of supporters are confused by this strange U-turn.

The fact that it's less than two months since the transfer window closed and Swansea are already looking at bringing in multiple free agents shows that Luke Williams feels like he's been left short-changed and the additions of both Reach and Christie would certainly bolster his squad.

The pair have made a combined total of 695 Championship appearances, and given that the vast majority of Swansea's summer business came from abroad and lack Championship experience, the likes of Reach and Christie would be invaluable.

Older players who have been there and done it are always important to have around in successful squads, and you feel as if that's what Williams' side have been lacking in the early weeks of the season.

Swansea have the likes of Josh Key, Kyle Naughton and Sam Parker on their books at right-back, but with Naughton being a veteran and Parker being a youngster, it means Key is their only feasible regular right-back option.

By bringing in Christie, it gives Williams the chance to freshen up his back four, and it could even be argued that the former Hull City man is an upgrade on the current players in that position.

It's clear that he enjoyed his time at Swansea previously and wanted to extend his stay further, so the chance to join on a permanent basis, albeit over two years after he should have signed, could be an attractive option for Christie, and would give the club some much-needed depth.