Morgan Whittaker joined Swansea back in January but has so far failed to establish himself as much of a first-team regular at the club - so could a loan away benefit him in January?

The winger has looked a talent at times - it's why the Swans were initially convinced to bring him to the Liberty Stadium in the first place. At former side Derby, he wasn't clinical in front goal bagging only once in 32 appearances but if you watched him play, you could see the ability that he has on the ball.

He often looks lively, his dribbling is smart and he does have a burst of pace about him too.

He got off to a decent start with his new side too, bagging a goal against Man City last year in the cup and scoring a further four in his 20 total appearances for them.

 

 

However, this year, he's only been able to make regular starts in Swansea's EFL Cup ties. In the league, he's been confined to runs off the bench. So should he be sent out on loan in January?

It could be an arrangement that would benefit both parties. The club don't look like thrusting him into the first-team picture in the league anytime soon, with the current formation not suiting him too well.

Russell Martin has so far deployed more of a 3-4-2-1 formation and it's meant that the likes of Joel Piroe, Jamie Patterson and Olivier Ntcham can thrive behind the striker but not Whittaker.

If there's no potential gametime on the horizon, then surely the youngster should go out on a short-term basis to find it? The Swans won't want to let him leave permanently - the reason they signed him is because he looks a talent filled with potential - but some experience elsewhere could help him to develop even quicker.

Look at his performance against Plymouth for example. He was one of the best players on the field, as he notched up a hat-trick to help his side cruise to a 4-1 win. Argyle themselves are flying high in League One, so for him to pull out that showing against them (even if both sides didn't field full-strength sides) was impressive.

He could be a fantastic addition to any number of third tier sides - so why shouldn't he be allowed to go and have a regular run of games at a team in that league?

He'd be an asset to a side like Sunderland, Oxford, MK Dons, Burton or any team wanting to push towards the top six this year. The player himself would get valuable experience that he doesn't yet have, having not played too regularly for either of his two clubs so far and the Swans would have a player returning to them who has learned valuable lessons, gained important experience and could come back ready to break into the starting eleven.

It's win-win for all involved - so Russell Martin should certainly consider it when the January window rolls back around.