This article is part of Football League World's 'The Verdict' series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...
Wolverhampton Wanderers have joined the race to recruit Swansea City midfielder Flynn Downes, according to a report from Wales Online.
The 23-year-old was a regular starter under Russell Martin last season following his arrival from Ipswich Town, making 39 appearances in all competitions and establishing himself as a key asset alongside Matt Grimes.
Although his attacking contributions were limited, he still shone as one of the Swans' better players as he adapted seamlessly from life in League One.
However, the second-tier side may be the victims of their own success with the midfielder this summer with several Premier League sides taking notice of his performances in South Wales.
As per Wales Online, Crystal Palace and Southampton are also keeping tabs on his situation ahead of a potential summer approach, though it's currently unclear what price they will need to pay to prize him away from the Swansea.com Stadium.
From Wolves' point of view, would this be a good addition? And is he ready to step up to the top flight? We asked three of our writers at Football League World for their opinions on these two key questions.
Carla Devine
There’s no doubting that Downes is a technically gifted player and he has improved solidly season upon season in his career so far.
However, I think it could be a bit too soon for a step up to the Premier League.
It seems unlikely that the 23-year-old would walk into the first team at the club and given Wolves had a good season last year, they will be looking to build upon it and move forward.
Therefore, it feels like it would be sensible to look at the long-term picture here. He’s still young and has time to make a big move so if he stayed at Swansea for now and played a big role there week in, week out, he could continue his development and then get a move later in time.
As it stands, it feels as though this move at this moment in time would cause his minutes to take a hit and his progress to slow down during a time he will be looking to improve further.
Simmey Hannifin-Donaldson
Downes enjoyed a very good season in his first campaign with Swansea.
However, it may be that having been playing in League One in 2020/21, the Premier League is a jump too far for the 23-year-old at present, at least if he wants to be a starter.
Indeed, I can't help but feel remaining at Swansea for a further year would be best for his playing time and development, unless he is content being a squad player.
That being said, any player with ambition is going to find it extremely difficult to turn down a move to the Premier League, so it will certainly be interesting to see whether or not Wolves, or any other club, submit a formal bid for the midfielder this summer.
Josh Cole
This could be a good long-term investment by Wolves as Downes could potentially establish himself as a top-flight player in the not-too-distant future.
During the previous campaign, Downes was particularly impressive whilst in possession of the ball as he completed 92.6% of the passes that he attempted.
Whereas the midfielder will need to improve his consistency if he does make a move to Wolves this summer, he may end up benefitting from working under Bruno Lage.
Providing that Wolves are able to secure Downes' services for a reasonable fee, this may turn out to be a shrewd bit of business by the Premier League outfit.