Many players and managers have come and gone at Swansea City since their relegation to the Championship in 2018, but one guy in particular has stuck by the team through thick and thin.
Since the summer of 2018, captain Matt Grimes has been a constant in Swansea’s starting lineup. Although he was formerly a bit player who seemed certain to leave the team before the Swans were relegated, he has since turned his career around and is now regarded as a modern-day club legend.
Grimes has been linked to moves outside of south Wales in the past due to his steady performances for the Swans, but those moves have never come to pass. In January of next year, he will celebrate ten years with the team.
Swansea supporters will be hoping that Grimes stays put since he hasn’t been linked to a move away thus far this summer.
Swansea City will be relieved that Matt Grimes is not interested in being transferred.
Many outsiders would be perplexed as to why Grimes isn’t playing in the Premier League or at least for a Championship team that is in the running for promotion given his consistently excellent performances for Swansea, although he has previously attracted interest.
Swansea’s captain was linked to Watford, who had recently been demoted to the Championship, in the summer of 2020, and there was more interest the next summer, according to Wales Online.
Grimes’ contract expired in 2022, and Swansea lost the play-off final in 2021. It appeared that the midfielder’s stay at the team would end in the summer of 2021, and Premier League teams were interested in the former Exeter City player. Steve Cooper also left the team.
The Chronicle said that Grimes was interested in joining with Newcastle United and Southampton, while Football Insider stated that Fulham and Brighton were interested in signing the Swansea player.
Grimes signed a new contract with the Swans that summer, but he stayed faithful and hasn’t stopped other teams from showing interest in him since.
It was said just last summer that Russell Martin, who wants to work with Grimes again, was keen for Southampton to make a move for the midfielder. The midfield player signed a new contract with Swans that will keep him in SA1 until 2027 in spite of this interest.
Grimes hasn’t drawn any transfer interest this summer as a result of this, and Swansea will be hoping that doesn’t change for the foreseeable future.
Matt Grimes is so important to Swansea City
Since being demoted to the Championship, Swansea has had five permanent managers, and each of them has developed the team around Grimes, demonstrating how crucial he is to the group.
The midfielder is not only a fantastic player, but he is also a manager’s dream because he is almost never injured or suspended.
Grimes has astonishingly missed just four of the 230 Championship league games played by Swansea since their relegation in 2018.
He was substituted off the field for a match against Leeds in the 2018–19 season, for another match in the 2020–21 season when Steve Cooper was trying to rotate his team, and for two more games in the 2022–2023 season.
Without a question, Grimes is Swansea’s most valuable player, thus Luke Williams will benefit much if he can keep him at the team.
Swansea played every minute of their 46 league games last season without the midfielder, and without him, they very likely would not have ended in 14th place and might have been forced into a relegation struggle.
| Matt Grimes’ 2023/24 Championship season – Fotmob | |
| Appearances | 46 |
| Minutes played | 4,140 |
| Goals | 4 |
| Assists | 5 |
| Successful passes | 3,291 |
| Accurate long balls | 123 |
| Chances created | 54 |
| Touches | 4,280 |
| Tackles won | 58.2% |
| Duels won | 56.4% |
Bizarrely, there are some sections of Swansea’s support that think Grimes is overrated and that he doesn’t do enough, which is absurd when you see just how highly-rated he’s been by every manager, and the stature of clubs interested in him previously.
Signing a new deal with the club last summer indicates that, despite the noise, Grimes is more than happy at Swansea City, and it’s clear that his young family love life in the city too.
After plenty of interest in him previously, perhaps clubs have realised that the 28-year-old is happy where he is, and there’s been no sign of any interested parties so far this summer.
It’s early days in the transfer window so far, but Swansea will be hoping interest remains quiet in the coming months. Grimes is Swansea’s best player, and keeping him at the Swansea.com Stadium is so important.
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