As Jerry Yates departs the team, Swansea City plans a new bid for Richard Kone.
Jerry Yates completed a permanent move to Luton Town, making him the most recent player to depart Swansea City.
According to WalesOnline, the striker ended his two-year stint in south Wales by joining the Hatters for a seven-figure price. Matt Bloomfield, the manager of Luton, stated: “This is a massive signing for us.” Jerry is an accomplished professional with Championship and League One experience. He wanted to remain in the Championship, but he has contributed to our goals, our identity as a football team, and our desire for him to lead our assault. He is a true Luton-type player—someone who plays with genuine vigour and excitement and never stops working or running.
“When the chance to sign him came up, we seized it with both hands because he was a handful against us while playing for Derby towards the end of the previous season.” Yates scored eight goals in his debut season after joining the Swans in the summer of 2023 under Michael Duff. However, he lost favour under Duff’s successor, Luke Williams.
Yates spent the previous season on loan at Derby County, who had previously indicated interest in making the move permanent prior to John Eustace taking over as manager from Paul Warne. After Yates was excluded from the Swans’ preseason training camp in Spain earlier this summer, rumours began to circulate about the 28-year-old’s future with the team.
Josh Ginnelly was also left behind, and as the transfer window enters its last month, his future appears to be similarly uncertain. Despite his initial reluctance to descend to the third division, former club Blackpool was one of those who showed a strong interest in Yates.
Though club insiders have emphasised that no agreement has yet been reached on any new signings at this point, it appears the Hatters have succeeded in persuading him otherwise, a move that might yet open the door for a new arrival at SA1. However, with Florian Bianchini leaving on loan for Portsmouth earlier this week and Mykola Kuharevich also being sold, it is evident that his departure has further paved the way for getting more firepower this summer.
According to people familiar with the negotiations, the Swans are still very much in the running to sign Richard Kone, having already had two bids rejected by the League One team. The latest of which was believed to be valued roughly £4.5m. The 22-year-old has also been the target of rejected bids from Toulouse and Preston North End, and City is currently preparing a new move for him.
Swansea had earlier appeared to be in the lead to sign him, but it’s obvious that more work needs to be done before a deal is finalised, as Leicester City is rumoured to have started talks. As of this writing, it’s unclear if the Foxes have made a serious move to acquire Kone, who finished with 18 league goals and was awarded League One Player of the Year.
Kone would follow in the footsteps of Bobby Wales, Zeidane Inoussa, Cameron Burgess, Ricardo Santos, and Ethan Galbraith if Swansea were to finalise a deal. On Saturday, the Swans will host French team Lorient at Swansea.com Stadium in their summer friendly, continuing their preseason preparations.
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