The last two weeks have been a hectic time at Swansea City Football Club. There has been plenty of speculation in the press that the relations between manager Michael Laudrup and the Swansea board are broken. And now, we learned today that Swansea have completely cut ties with Laudrup’s agent Bayram Tutumlu who, Swansea City claimed, was trying to dictate the club’s transfer policy.
In reaction to not being allowed to speak to the club about transfers, here’s what Tutumlu said exclusively to the South Wales Evening Post newspaper:
“[Swansea Chairman Huw Jenkins] wants to bring in players who do not have the quality for Michael Laudrup.
“Huw Jenkins has paid me nothing, but I have spent a lot to try to bring players to Swansea.
“My relationship with Michael Laudrup is excellent, as he has told you himself.
“Nothing changes between me and Michael. I have known Michael for 25 years.”
Michael Laudrup was interviewed for the same article, and said:
“Bayram is my agent and that’s not going to change.
“If the club do not want to work with him or Bayram does not want to work with them, it’s their problem not mine.
“The only thing I care about is to have the best players possible at Swansea who are within range of the economy of the club.
“Again I must say that my intention is to stay – I have repeated it so many times in the last three months.
“I have 100 per cent confidence in Bayram, but if the club don’t want to work with him or he doesn’t want to work with them, they have to live with that. It will not change my relationship with Bayram one centimetre.
“The only thing I am interested in is having the best players at Swansea within the budget that is possible.
“That’s what I have been fighting for every day, last year when I arrived and this year as well. That will always be the most important thing for me wherever I end up in the future.”
What a mess. Obviously, Laudrup is pushing hard to twist Swansea’s arm to buy players that are more expensive than what the club is used to paying (their record transfer is just £5.5 million, which they spent last summer on Pablo Hernandez). Since the relationship between Laudrup’s agent and the club has been broken, that doesn’t bode well for Swansea in terms of keeping Laudrup at the club.
What are your thoughts on the matter? Should Laudrup’s agent be so involved in the transfer dealings, or are the club right in cutting off ties with him since he has no place dictating transfers? And, more importantly, do you think Laudrup will stay at the club or not? Share your viewpoint in the comments section below.
Premier League
- Michael Laudrup staying at Swansea despite agent exit — The Independent
- Roberto Martinez to offer Phil Neville coach’s role at Everton — The Independent
- Man United says a successful £85million Real Madrid bid for Bale will open door for Ronaldo — Sun
- Aston Villa target Nicklas Helenius in plea to Aalborg over transfer fee — The Independent
- Celtic have rejected Hull City’s bid for Gary Hooper — Sky Sports
- Infographic: Everyone who has a role in player recruitment at Liverpool — 101GG
- ESPN will shut down ESPN 3D by the end of the year — Deadspin
- Gareth Bale in Florida, Leighton Baines in LA, while Alan Shearer & Steve Bruce in St Tropez — Mail
- Newcastle keen on Darren Bent, but not his £6m valuation and £70,000-a-week wages — Independent
- Leicester have rejected a third bid from Hull City for goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel — Sky Sports
- Arsenal can win Premier League, says striker Olivier Giroud — The Mail
- Tottenham Hotspur apparently don’t want Leandro Damiao — Cartilage Free Captain
- Spurs can have Fredy Guarin if they improve bid to £21million say Inter Milan — The Mirror
- Paul Lambert moves to secure services of Christian Benteke with improved contract — Telegraph
- Everton join Arsenal in the race to buy Ashley Williams from Swansea — The Mirror
- Nani has his heart set on a move to Juventus or Monaco this summer — The Mail
Serie A
- Inter Milan captain Javier Zanetti has penned a new one-year contract extension — ESPN FC
- Rudi Garcia has been hired to coach Roma, the club’s fourth manager in two years – FOX Soccer
La Liga
Championship
- Birmingham are confident Jonathan Spector and Wade Elliott will pledge their future to club — Sky Sports
International soccer
- Spain secured top-spot in Euro U21 Championship Group B with win over Holland — Sky Sports
- ESPN’s Second highest audience for FIFA World Cup Qualifying match — TV By The Numbers
- Theodore Whitmore has resigned as Jamaica coach amid a World Cup qualifying losing streak — FOX Soccer
The Nightly Soccer Report is tomorrow’s news today. It’s often tomorrow morning’s worldwide newspaper headlines that are published the night before. We do all the work for you, combing the Internet and aggregating the news for you. Read The Nightly Soccer Report on World Soccer Talk every night before bed, so you can stay on top of all the news that matters.
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