Swansea City are in 'advanced talks' with Southampton striker Michael Obafemi about a loan switch until the end of the current season, per Football Insider.

20-year-old Obafemi - capped once by the senior Republic of Ireland national side - made his Saints first team debut at the age of 18 in January 2018, and has sporadically made appearances in the last two years.

He netted his first league goal for the south coast side in a December 2018 encounter against Huddersfield Town, in a season that saw him play six times.

But the 2019/20 campaign saw Obafemi exposed to more league action, scoring three times in 21 appearances as Ralph Hasenhuttl made him a key part of his plans.

The same can not be said of Obafemi this season, who has found game-time harder to come by and has seen just 13 minutes of Premier League action, with fellow youngster Dan N'Lundulu jumping ahead of him in the pecking order.

With Danny Ings returning to full fitness, Obafemi has now been allowed to seek a temporary move away from St. Mary's Stadium, and Swansea are in pole position to land him.

The Welsh outfit could do with strengthening their attacking options as they currently line-up with Andre Ayew and Jamal Lowe as a front two - both of whom aren't out-and-out strikers.

Brighton loanee Viktor Gyokeres has failed to hit the ground running for the Swans when given the chance, and Obafemi would add a new dynamic to their attack with his explosiveness.

It won't be that straightforward for Swansea though, who can expect rival Championship clubs to battle for Obafemi so they'll have to move swiftly to complete any deal.

The Verdict

Obafemi joining Swansea would make perfect sense considering they look frail up-front, especially if one of Ayew or Lowe were to get injured.

The only issue is that Swansea already have five loanees at the club, and adding a sixth would mean that one would have to be left out of the matchday squad every week.

The unfortunate one may be goalless Swede Gyokeres, who is an entirely different player to Obafemi, and if he does get the deal over the line, Steve Cooper will be hoping the Irishman has the goals to fire his side back to the Premier League.