The potential arrival of Swansea City star Scott Sinclair has got blogger Jack Beresford breaking out the tongue-twisters – for all the wrong reasons.
Over the past seven days, you may have noticed a surprising turn of events in the world of sport.
No, it’s not Alberto Aquilani’s decision to call time on his short-lived Liverpool career, but instead the arrival of the Olympics and with it the relegation of the Premier League to margins of the sporting headlines.
With so much attention placed on London and goings on at the Olympic Park, you would be forgiven for failing to notice much going on in the world of soccer.
Yet the eagle-eyed among you may have also noticed this hasn’t stopped football getting in on the act, with the Olympics Soccer competition providing fans with the chance to witness the world’s greatest competing in the original international football tournament.
Actually, when I say world’s best, what I mean to say is the best players under the age of 23, who did not compete at the recent Euro 2012 tournament and those that were released by their club to take part in the event.
Team Great Britain were one of those sides, with a hastily assembled squad put together by the eternally-glum Stuart Pearce impressing in the early stages of the competition, before bowing out on penalties in that oh-so traditionally English manner.
It was during one of these games, against Luis Suarez’s Uruguay that I witnessed the talents of Swansea City midfielder Scott Sinclair first hand.
Selected as one of the youngster’s in the squad, Sinclair closely resembles Arsenal midfielder Theo Walcott, only where Theo may have produced hat tricks against Croatia and mazy solo runs against Liverpool, Sinclair has done…well…not a lot really.
Impressive in Swansea City’s promotion-winning season from the Championship, the subsequent year in the top flight saw the 23-year-old enjoy a string of solid, if uninspired outings.
A pacey wide player, who should have been given more time to develop at previous club Chelsea, the main stumbling block for me, when it comes to Sinclair, is his over reliance on one foot.
And his showings for Team GB at this summer’s Games have done little to convince me of his world-class abilities either, with his older teammate Craig Bellamy proving a more potent attacking force for Stuart Pearce’s side.
All of which makes reports that the Swansea star could be the latest target of City boss Roberto Mancini slightly concerns. Sources suggest that Sinclair is currently stalling on a new deal with the Welsh club and as such, could be available for as little as £5 million.
Manchester City boss Mancini is meanwhile eager to add to his squad, with the young star fitting the bill as an ideal low-cost addition.
Yet for all the bluster surrounding a potential move I ask only this – what became of Adam Johnson? The former Boro man may have endured an indifferent campaign for the Blues last year, but his performances remained some way above the standard set by Sinclair over the previous term.
But am I alone in thinking this? Should we be looking to trade Scott Sinclair for Adam Johnson?
