Swansea City manager Russell Martin has admitted that he is an admirer of Watford forward Andre Gray as the Swans search for more firepower before the transfer window closes.

It has been reported that Swansea are interested in making a late swoop for Gray in the summer transfer window with them thought to be keen to try and agree on a loan deal with Watford for his services this summer.

That comes with Gray also believed to be on the radar of West Brom with the Baggies still potentially in the market to add to their attacking options before the transfer window comes to a close despite their strong start to the campaign.

Gray managed to score five goals in his 30 appearances in the Championship last season as Watford won promotion, but he was largely seen as more of a rotation player and only made 14 starts.

The experienced striker was left out of the Hornets’ squad for their opening Premier League game against Aston Villa last weekend.

Speaking to Wales Online, Martin has now conceded that Gray is someone that he knows can perform at Championship level and he is one of a number of players that the Swans could be interested in signing before the window closes.

He said: "Andre is a good player who has done really well at this level.

"I never like to talk about players when they're other teams' players. If he ever comes into this building then we can talk about him then.

"But until then, he's a just player I've played against many times over the years, so I know how tough a character he is to play against.

"He's just one of a number of players who I'm sure will get linked between now and the end of the window."

The verdict

You can understand why Martin views Gray as a player that could make a real difference to his attacking options this season.

The Swans have lacked enough of a goal threat in the final third in the early weeks of the campaign and that is something that has to be addressed if they are going to make progress after a challenging start on the field.

Gray is someone that clearly needs to make a move away from Watford this season so that he can get regular game time elsewhere.

The experienced forward is proven at Championship level as Martin alluded to and that is something that the Swans maybe should be prioritising at this stage having already brought in some players for the future.

The forward could add some vital extra goals for the Swans and he has the ability to finish off chances that might be created for him with Martin’s possession-based style of play. Therefore it would seem to be a potentially good fit for them at this stage.

However, Swansea are going to have to hope that West Brom do not strongly come in for Gray as well because they are very strong for a promotion challenge at this stage.