Swansea
chairman Huw Jenkins insists his relationship with Michael Laudrup has
not been adversely affected by a summer disagreement over transfer
policy, but he has made it clear he will not alter his prudent financial
approach.
Rather than being able to focus on strengthening their squad ahead of
a season which will include the club's first foray into the Europa
League, the Liberty Stadium outfit have had to cope with a falling out
between Jenkins and Laudrup's long-time representative Bayram Tutumlu.
The disagreement concerned proposed transfer targets and the amount of money Swansea were prepared to spend in acquiring them.
The row put 49-year-old Laudrup's future at the club in doubt,
particularly when Swansea decided to stop dealing with Tutumlu, after he
attempted to broker a deal to sell defender Ashley Williams against the
club's wishes.
But there has been more positive news to report in recent days with
the club having tabled a number of bids for players targeted by their
Danish boss.
Midfielder Jose Canas and defender Jordi Amat have arrived from Real
Betis and Espanyol respectively, while Press Association Sport
understands a club record £10.2million deal for Vitesse Arnhem striker Wilfried Bony is moving ever nearer.
And Jenkins is adamant he always believed Laudrup would remain in charge.
"Michael Laudrup has made his feelings known that he wanted to stay
here and we have been looking to bring in five or six players," Jenkins
said.
"We've worked hard during the last month or two with a lot of offers
in for a lot of players, we are hoping to bring in one or two of those
main targets, which have been publicised quite a bit but we will
hopefully land them.
"My relationship with Michael Laudrup has always been very good, that has never been in doubt.
"There has been a lot of speculation this summer, a lot of it when
Michael was on holiday, lots of it was blown out of proportion.
"There's always speculation when a club like us has been successful,
whether it be players or managers, someone can come along to try and
poach them, it's the type of club we are and we have to accept it.
"You can lose a manager or player in the transfer window any day.
"We're always prepared here if things change for whatever reason out of our control, we have to deal with it.
"But we weren't close to losing him (Laudrup) as far as I was concerned."
But Jenkins did voice his disappointment at Tutumlu's actions, and made it clear he would not change the club's financial ethos.
When asked about his relationship with Tutumlu, he said: "I am not
friends with any agent as such, but they are part of football and we do
our best to deal with them in the right way. A lot of that (the row with
Tutumlu) was blown out of proportion.
"We run our football club in a certain way and whether it is Michael
Laudrup and his agent or anyone other manager and his agent, we will
continue to run the club as we see fit, that is what we have done for
the last 10 years.
"You'll have to ask the agent what his reasons were, but things are settled down looking forward to the new season.
"It sells papers, he was contacting the press, I was away and it
didn't affect what we were doing, this is how pre-season is. We have to
put up with it.
"Two players are in - Canas and Amat - and I would expect five to be
in by the start of season. Those timescales haven't changed."
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