This article is part of Football League World's 'The Verdict' series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Swansea City are one of four Championship sides interested in a move for Derby County captain Tom Lawrence in January, as per the Daily Mail.

The 27-year-old would usually command a fee in normal circumstances, but with the winger earning a reported £37,000 per week at Pride Park and the need for the East Midlands side to drastically reduce their wage bill in their bid to survive in administration, they are thought to be willing to let him go on a free transfer in January.

AFC Bournemouth, Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion are the three other sides reportedly in the race to secure his signature, after seeing the Welshman become a key figure for the Rams in his four years at the club.

 

 

With Derby paying an initial £5m fee for his services, this opportunity for Swansea to seal a bargain deal may be hard to resist, especially considering their hierarchy's preference to operate in a financially prudent manner.

But would he be a decent winter acquisition for the Swans? And is he a player that's needed at the Swansea.com Stadium?

We asked three of our Football League World reporters for their verdict on these two key talking points.

Ned Holmes

This could be an interesting addition for Swansea, particularly if they can get the finances of the deal right.

Signing Lawrence on a free transfer could prove smart business but you'd imagine that they'll need him to take a pay cut given he's currently on £37,000 per week.

The Swans have found their feet under Russell Martin but he does look as though he could add some more firepower.

Lawrence would offer just that and is a proven player at Championship level.

He's got the technical ability and a move to South Wales could help him get back to his best, which could mean they've got another Jamie Paterson on their hands!

Chris Thorpe

I think Lawrence is a player who has a point to prove, so perhaps he could do with a fresh start away from Derby.

He’d certainly add more quality to the Swansea attack and now has some vital leadership experience under his belt.

They need to add a bit more depth to their squad, so it would be fair to predict that Russell Martin will be busy in the window.

Lawrence isn’t necessarily a player they need but when a player of his standing becomes available, clubs tend to take notice.

It would be a big coup if they could get him ahead of other clubs.

Ben Wignall

Whilst Lawrence is quite obviously a talented player capable of doing good things, he hasn't shown it enough for Derby since the 2019-20 season.

He reached double figures in that campaign in the Championship and it's fair to say he's had a bit of a drop-off since - but you don't lose technical ability that quickly.

We've seen Russell Martin get the best out of Jamie Paterson who for the last few years has been on the sidelines more often than not and Lawrence you could say is of a similar mould.

Swansea don't want to stockpile too many players in the attacking midfield position though - Paterson and Olivier Ntcham are two very good players for this level and Man City youngster James McAtee has already been linked with a January loan move so it's clearly an area that is being targeted for some strength in depth.

Providing the wages are sensible - Lawrence is reported to be on £37,000 a week at Pride Park and he won't get that again in his career - then I don't see why Swansea can't be a good fit for the 27-year-old as he's clearly still got something to offer in a potential promotion battle.