Your Swansea City headlines for Wednesday, December 29.
Gary Neville's EFL plea
Gary Neville has urged football's governing bodies to stem the cancellations of matches where possible.
Swansea have been unable to face Queens Park Rangers, Millwall and Luton Town over the festive period owing to a Covid-19 spread across the United Kingdom.
Earlier in December, the English Football League issued clubs with red protocols in a bid to limit the spread of coronavirus at stadiums and training grounds.
However, fixtures continue to be postponed at short notice throughout the football pyramid.
And Manchester United legend Neville has urged the Premier League and the EFL to only call off matches in the event of serious cases.
"The PL and EFL (in particular) have got to stop these cancellations unless in exceptional circumstances," he wrote on Twitter.
"Each club has 40-50 players including youth team as a minimum. If it’s the Carabao Cup or EFL Trophy they find a team without fielding the first 11. Get on with it."
McAtee latest
Pep Guardiola will allow James McAtee to leave Manchester City on loan in January if he can join a club that suits his style, write The Times.
WalesOnline revealed in November that Swansea are keen on a loan swoop for the 19-year-old as they bid to add to their creative options.
McAtee is out of contract in the summer of 2023, and it appears as though he will need to agree fresh terms with the Premier League leaders before being allowed to depart the Etihad Stadium.
Swansea's sporting director Mark Allen - who previously occupied the role of academy director at Man City - has held talks with McAtee's representatives over a possible temporary switch.
And with Yan Dhanda deemed surplus to requirements, McAtee would provide Jamie Paterson and Olivier Ntcham with additional competition when it comes to claiming an attacking berth in Russell Martin's starting 11.
The young Englishman made his first team bow for Man City in a 6-1 Carabao Cup win over Wycombe Wanderers in September before being handed his league debut in a 3-0 triumph over Everton two months later.
Contract latest
Swansea are bidding to tie down key players to longer contracts in the new year.
Captain Matt Grimes recently put pen to paper on fresh terms that will keep him at the Swansea.com Stadium until the summer of 2025.
But four key first-team stars see their current deals expire in the summer, with Jake Bidwell, Ben Hamer, Kyle Naughton and Korey Smith all set to be out of contract once the current campaign finishes.
The Swans are hopeful of exercising the one-year extension option in goalkeeper Hamer's contract while Smith and Naughton are also understood to be keen on remaining in south Wales.
Bidwell has attracted transfer interest throughout his Swansea career, with Championship rivals Birmingham City among those to mull over a potential swoop for the 28-year-old of late.
Should he fail to sign fresh terms with the club he joined in 2018, he could be offloaded for a nominal sum in January. Bidwell could even depart for nothing in the summer.
Despite having three consecutive matches postponed, the Swans remain confident of tying down Jamie Paterson to a longer deal.
Paterson signed a 12-month contract with Swansea in August after being released by Bristol City following the conclusion of the 2020/21 campaign.
Speaking to WalesOnline about contracts in early December, sporting director Mark Allen said: "They're all on the table for discussion right now.
"I wouldn't be doing my job if I was sitting here waiting for contracts to expire before making decisions.
"They're a work in progress and will always be in the background.
"Part of sitting down with ownership is to reflect on all of those and make some recommendations."
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