Swansea City have opened negotiations with young free agent midfielder Liam Walsh in regards to a potential move to South Wales, according to Football Insider.
Walsh was one of 11 players to be released by Bristol City at the end of the 2020-21 campaign, and perhaps it was a harsh decision considering he had little chance to impress new boss Nigel Pearson.
An Everton academy graduate, Walsh didn't make the grade at Goodison Park in the senior squad and switched to the Robins in January 2018, following loan spells at Yeovil and Birmingham in the EFL.
In his two-and-a-half years at Ashton Gate though, Walsh appeared just 18 times in the league for the club - his best work in that time coming in the 2019-20 campaign in a League One loan spell with Coventry City.
Walsh missed the first 35 games of this past season with a thigh injury, and then after playing three times under Pearson he then suffered a hamstring setback, ending his campaign early.
Pearson clearly didn't see enough to offer the 23-year-old a new deal but Swansea could offer him a Championship lifeline for next season.
WalesOnline reported last month that Walsh was of interest to the club and now Football Insider believe talks have begun to try and bring the 5 ft 6 in man to the Liberty Stadium, but there's other Championship interest in the midfielder and it may not be quite as straight-forward as they imagined.
The Verdict
This could be a really shrewd move for Swansea, especially as Walsh is a free agent.
Walsh clearly had his injury issues last season and it remains to be seen if he comes back better from them, but at 23 years of age the ex-Everton man still has a lot of improvement left in his game.
And if Steve Cooper remains at the Liberty Stadium for next season, he could be the best coach placed to get maximum ability out of Walsh providing he can stay fit.
Cooper specialises in coaching up youngsters and Walsh is technically still in that bracket at 23, it could be the perfect match for all and it's an area where Swansea do need bolstering if they don't get Conor Hourihane permanently.