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Mathew Davies

Swansea City have 10 players in transfer limbo and three weeks to sort it all out in order to bring in additions

Swansea City's start to the season hasn't gone to plan so far.

A draw at Rotherham United and a miserable 3-0 home defeat against Blackburn Rovers means Swansea have some work to do to get their campaign up and running.

Four players have arrived so far in the shapes of Joe Allen, Harry Darling, Nathan Wood and Matty Sorinola but more work is needed to make head coach Russell Martin's squad more rounded.

READ MORE: Swansea City transfer news live updates

For any more arrivals to happen, Swansea need departures to take place first. There are question marks hanging over a number in the first-team squad, with the club eager to move on a number of players to free-up space. Here we give the latest on each man's situation.

Ryan Bennett

Bennett hasn't featured for Swansea under Martin since March. The head coach has explained the situation to the centre-back and everyone knows where they stand.

"There’s never this thing about people being frozen out," Martin said after the 1-1 draw with Rotherham United on the opening day of the season. "Ryan Bennett’s not here because we had a chat with him last season. Ryan knows where it stands. He’s not the model of the club, he doesn’t fit, so he’s not here."

He was linked with a move to Reading earlier on this summer but the Royals' financial situation put paid to any move becoming a reality. Bennett's wages are likely to be a stumbling block to a deal being struck with a suitor. This one could go right down to the wire.

Nathanael Ogbeta

Ogbeta is in a similar boat to Bennett. He arrived in SA1 injured last January for a fee of around £300,000 and hasn't been able to force his way into Martin's plans. That's his challenge, said the boss after the clash with The Millers.

"(He’s the) same as every guy not in the squad really, we’ve got two left wingbacks in my opinion," he said. "Matty Sorinola operates better from the left, he can operate on the right. Ryan Manning is fantastic, Lats who can play there.

“It's like the same as every other player who is back there. Unfortunately it's football where we have a big squad and you can only have 16 outfield players in the squad on a matchday. And he’s not one of them. There doesn't need to be any more to it than that.

“He knows why he's not in the squad as every other player does. Great kid, great young man, really respectful and professional. So he understands.

“It’s up to him to become part of the squad at some point and show us he can really help us or to assess his situation and see what opportunities lie elsewhere."

WalesOnline understands Ogbeta is increasingly likely to be playing his football elsewhere next season.

Jay Fulton

Fulton had been brought back into the starting XI fold during pre-season and for the opening two games of the campaign. And the head coach was impressed by what he saw at The New York Stadium. His challenge will ramp up though, once Allen is firing on all cylinders again.

"I thought Jay (Fulton) and Grimesy (Matt Grimes) were brilliant today, so Joe's first challenge is to get in the team," Martin said last month. "But for sure he'll help us in whatever we do, training, off the pitch, on the pitch. He'll be great when he's fully firing."

He failed to replicate that form against Rovers - he was at fault for the first goal and was subbed early - and when Allen is back you feel he'll be relegated to bench duties again.

There has been little speculation surrounding Fulton, save some tentative links with Reading and interest from abroad. He still has two years on his contract, meaning he is another who will be hard to shift.

Steven Benda

The big German stopper has been on the bench for the past two games and it looks like he could be staying put. Martin said he doesn't envisage any movement in the goalkeeping department now.

"One of the reasons for bringing Archie (Matthews) in, he's a really good goalkeeper and he's had a bit of Football League experience already, and Dean [Thornton] has worked with him before," said Martin.

"Having four goalkeepers meant that one of them could go out and play football. Webby (Lewis Webb) went on loan last season but only ended up playing three games so he didn't get out of it what we needed to. If Webby is going to have any chance of playing here in the long-term or in senior football, he just needs games now. He's at an age where he hasn't really played senior football.

"I think Aberystwyth will be a really good loan for him, a good standard and a good test. We'll assess it in the coming months. Deano will watch all of his clips, go through them with him and he'll train with us full-time still which is the ideal situation really.

"He'll train with us, train with them once a week and play for them. It's perfect really. It means we've got Archie as third choice at the minute if anything happens to any of the other guys."

A move to Peterborough United was touted for Benda earlier this year but it didn't come to pass. Andy Fisher is undisputed No.1 for Martin, although we could see Benda feature in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.

Liam Walsh

It just hasn't worked out for Walsh in south Wales since his arrival on a free transfer last summer. An early injury and a poor loan spell at Hull City didn't help, and a ruptured Achilles in pre-season really put the tin hat on it for the unlucky midfielder.

Swansea had wanted to move the former Bristol City man on this summer but that looks impossible now, given the long road to recovery ahead he faces.

Dan Williams

Youngster Williams is set to head out on loan to get valuable game-time under his belt this season. He spent time in Ireland last term before his stint with Dundalk was cut short due to injury.

The midfielder will feature against Oxford United on Tuesday night before a move can be sorted for him. Martin said: "With Dan, he went on loan and started really well before getting injured which is really unfortunate. I think we are looking for Dan to go out and play football if we can.

"You know my view on it, if they're not playing football at 21 or 22 here, they need to be playing somewhere. We can't stockpile here.

"At that age, the biggest benefit you can get is playing games. It needs to be at the right club and at the right level to make it worthwhile. We can't just send our players anywhere. They do need to learn other sides of the game for sure, but it needs to be the right profile for Dan.

"We are working on that. The most important thing is we get him fit. He'll be involved on Tuesday at Oxford in some capacity. He's a great lad, he's looking fit again now and it's just about building him up, him and Ben Cabango, to a point where they're ready to play.

"We'll keep looking and assessing and we'll see if we can find the right one for him."

Kyle Joseph

The striker is set to leave SA1 this summer on loan.

League One sides Sheffield Wednesday and Oxford United are keen on the utility man, who can play out wide, up top or in a wingback role.

Joseph joined the Swans last summer from Wigan Athletic and made two Carabao Cup appearances under Martin before joining Cheltenham Town on a season-long loan deal last term.

However, his time with the Robins was cut short and he returned to south Wales midway through the 2021/22 campaign. Joseph - who still has three years left to run on his contract with Swansea - made 10 substitute appearances for the Swans in the second half of last term.

Liam Cullen

Like Joseph - and indeed Morgan Whittaker - the path to the first team appears blocked for Liam Cullen in Landore. Joel Piroe and Michael Obafemi are undisputed first choices in the attacking berths, meaning Cullen may have to look elsewhere again for game-time.

He went to Lincoln City for the second half of last season and a similar deal is likely again this summer. Portsmouth showed interest earlier this year but those links have gone cold.

Jordon Garrick

Winger Garrick hasn't been involved in the two matchdays squads so far this season and is understood to be available.

He did well with League One side Plymouth Argyle last season and another move away seems likely this term. Earlier this year it was understood he was keen on a return to Home Park.

Joel Piroe

Not one who Swansea want to move on - at all - but such is their financial predicament, any big-money move for the Dutchman will have to be considered.

Leicester City, Watford and Brighton have all been mentioned as possible destinations for the former PSV man but there has been nothing concrete in terms of a bid or approach and Swansea won't be courting one either.

You can read why clubs have avoided making a move for Piroe so far here.

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