The curious case of Barrie McKay

Barrie McKay - the seemingly forgotten man at Swansea.

The Scottish international was one of former boss Graham Potter's six summer signings in 2018 and went on to feature in 31 of the Swans' games last season. But, under new head coach Steve Cooper, McKay has made just three appearances and all of these have been in the Carabao Cup. Even then, the winger has appeared for only a combined 120 minutes.

So, what's happened to the former Rangers flyer?

The 24-year-old hasn't been included in a match-day squad since the 2-1 defeat to Watford in the Carabao Cup back in September while his only appearance in an 18-man Championship squad was when he was an unused substitute for the opening day win against Hull City.

Even though the Scot performed decently under Potter - including a superb goal away at Bolton as well as a number of important assists - McKay is far from a loved footballer at the Liberty Stadium with Cooper at the helm.

Though regularly played out of position at Swansea with Bersant Celina favoured in the No.10 role, McKay has come in for stick from a swathe of the Swansea faithful.

The former Nottingham Forest winger should have been well on his way to staking a claim for a wing position with the departures of Daniel James, Luciano Narsingh and Jefferson Montero in the summer, but, he has instead become even more of a peripheral figure at the Liberty Stadium as the Swans hit promotion form in the first part of the 2019/20 campaign.

McKay has seen his route to the first team blocked by the return of Wayne Routledge and Nathan Dyer to the side, both of whom have been impressive in recent weeks whilst the previously outcast Andre Ayew and Celina have been found operating in wide roles also.

Nathan Dyer and Wayne Routledge have performed well for Swansea.

In fact, McKay has found himself even further down the pecking order with the likes of Aldo Kalulu and Kristoffer Peterson getting more game time as the season progresses. And, even when Celina has played out on the left, George Byers and Yan Dhanda have been preferred to McKay in the central role behind the lone striker.

With options appearing increasingly limited at the Liberty Stadium, the Scot cuts an ever-depressing figure. Though contracted until summer 2021, McKay is surely likely to leave if he doesn't get a chance, especially when considering he has even been relegated to the Under-23s of late.

It's sad to see the decline of a talented footballer, but sometimes players just don't fit at certain clubs. McKay's quandary seems exactly that.

Former boss Paulo Sousa believes he was the one that harnessed the Premier League dream

In a bizarre turn of events, former Swansea head coach Paulo Sousa has hit out at the club's "very poor" facilities and claims he was the man that made Brendan Rodgers' Premier League achievement possible.

The Portuguese head coach - who is now in charge of French Ligue 1 side Bordeaux - guided the Swans to within a whisker of the play-offs during the 2009-10 Championship season, but the Welsh dream collapsed on the final day as a draw against Doncaster Rovers meant that Blackpool leapfrogged Swansea into the final play-off spot in sixth.

Sousa had initially travelled to UK shores in 2008 to become QPR boss after a stint as assistant coach of the Portuguese national side, but a less-than ceremonious end to his stint in White City and Roberto Martinez' departure to Wigan opened the door for Sousa to join the Welsh club.

Sousa departed Swansea in July 2010 to take up the vacant managerial position at Leicester City, but won just one game from nine in charge and was sacked nearly three months later.

Whilst Sousa's England career nosedived, Swansea reached the promised-land of the Premier League the year after under Brendan Rodgers. A seven-year stay in the top tier followed with the club currently rebuilding for another charge.

But, despite Sousa failing at the final hurdle in his only year in charge at the Liberty Stadium, the Portuguese has insisted he was the one that changed things for the better.



"Huw Jenkins realised that my type of football and my knowledge of the English league during the months I was at QPR were enough to be the right coach to continue the ideas he had in mind to reach the best results with Swansea." Sousa stated.

"And they were the best results, at the time, of the last 27 years. We were one point away from the play-offs, and then, with a little more investment and the improvement of all the game processes, it ended up happening with Brendan Rodgers."

Though Swansea's rise to the Premier League bankrolled the ability to create a new state-of-the art facility at Fairwood as well as the club's now-lauded youth system, that hasn't always been the case and Sousa was quick to point that out.

"Swansea’s facilities were very poor at the time. We had a training ground that, when it rained — and it rains almost every day there — would get flooded and we would go to an indoor of maybe 40 by 60 metres, with synthetic grass from the first generations."

Whether or not Sousa's comments are well-founded, Swansea were a fourth-tier side in danger of relegation to the Conference six years before the Portuguese took over. That kind of history must have been known before Sousa took the job. Perhaps it's just bitterness that Rodgers completed what Sousa could not.

Swansea in the race for Liverpool starlet Rhian Brewster

Reports suggest that Swansea City are among a number of clubs tracking Liverpool ace Rhian Brewster.

A possible loan signing is on the cards, but the Swans are facing competition from Crystal Palace, Bristol City and clubs in Germany.



The 19-year-old burst onto the scene at the Under-17s World Cup in 2017, scoring eight times to be crowned the competition's top-scorer as England took home the title in impressive fashion.

Though other clubs are reportedly interested in Dagenham-born Brewster, Swansea's links with Liverpool may well tip the balance in the Welsh club's favour.

Head coach Steve Cooper - a former Liverpool Academy Coach - steered England to Under-17 World Cup success with Brewster performing superbly under his guidance.



Assistant Mike Marsh also has links to Merseyside having won the FA Cup in a playing period of six years at Anfield.

Highly-rated at Anfield, Brewster signed a five-year contract with the Reds in July 2018, despite being injured with an ankle ligament injury, and made his senior debut in their 2-0 Carabao Cup victory over MK Dons in September.

A full 90 minutes in Liverpool's classic 5-5 draw and penalty success against Arsenal highlighted the faith boss Jurgen Klopp has in the youngster, despite the likes of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mo Salah in front of him.

 But, in regular league games, as Klopp attempts to steer Liverpool to their 19th English title, Brewster has found opportunities hard to come by which isn't exactly surprising considering the triumvirate mentioned above.

For boss Cooper, Brewster would add a goalscoring threat, with the club having sold Oli McBurnie to Sheffield United in the summer. Sam Surridge has come in on a season-long loan, scoring five goals in the season so far, but Brewster would add another dimension and experience of being in a Champions League-winning environment.



Cooper also has Andre Ayew and Borja Baston to call on up-front and the pair have 11 goals between them in the Championship, so Cooper is not exactly desperate for another forward. And, Liverpool would surely ensure that Brewster heads for a club that will guarantee the youngster game time, something which, with three goalscoring forwards, may not be assured at Swansea.

Whether or not Cooper can ensure this remains to be seen, but who wouldn't want a breakthrough youngster from one of the top footballing sides in the world? If it can be done, the Swans could well cement their place in the play-off places at the right-end of the Championship table.