Russell Martin was questioned about Swansea City's interest in free agent Robbie Brady in his pre-match press conference this morning, with quotes provided by WalesOnline.

Martin played with Robbie Brady at Norwich City and has an impressive track record of integrating free agents into his teams, though the jury is still out on whether he will sign for the Swans.

Martin said: "I love Robbie as a guy. He's brilliant. Fantastic player. Been in the Premier League for the last however long.

"But I haven't spoken to him. I haven't spoken to him for a while, being honest.

"He's a good player. Really good player, but I just think we've got a lot of players at the moment, we just need to work out who's going to fit in and who's going to really be with us over a long period of time."

The former Milton Keynes Dons manager is still assessing his squad following the transfer deadline and once he knows his best XI and is in a position to pass a more well-rounded judgement on the strength of his squad, then there could be some deals to be done with free agents.

Brady has played in the Premier League 160 times including 19 appearances last season, meaning it is a surprise to see him unattached at this stage, possibly there are some lofty wage demands that post-pandemic Championship clubs cannot entertain.

The Verdict

It is a testament to Martin's ability as a manager that he is always on the lookout to improve his squad.

Martin implemented Cameron Jerome and Andrew Surman successfully into the Dons' squad last term and it would not be a surprise to see him attempt something similar at some point this season.

Brady is very versatile and would be an excellent signing at Championship level if he can prove his fitness.

His dead ball ability would be amongst the best in the division and the experience he would add if Swansea are involved in some high pressure matches towards the end of the campaign would be invaluable.