Wilfried Bony back to Swansea or Andy Carroll deal are intriguing options
West Ham will face a Swansea side with little to play for this Saturday, while gunning for a high enough league finish to ensure the club hosts European opposition in its new stadium next season.
The Welsh club made their survival a mathematical certainty with last Sunday's 3-1 win over Liverpool, and if recent defeats to Leicester and Newcastle have proved anything, it's that Swansea are currently an obliging adversary for clubs needing a result.
Swansea ought to give a better account of themselves than they did against Leicester or Newcastle, but a repeat of the Liverpool result seems unlikely. This time around, it will be Swansea fielding the weakened team as Francesco Guidolin looks to offer fringe players their chance, while Slaven Bilic will be eyeing maximum points to ensure Europa League qualification. There's even a chance of Bilic's men qualifying for the Champions League, so motivation won't be an issue for the Hammers
Swans coach Alan Curtis has already intimated that defensive stalwarts Ashley Williams and Neil Taylor will be rested. Stephen Kingsley will almost certainly replace Taylor, and another strong showing from the Scottish prospect could put him in the frame as a full-time squad player for next season.
With Williams rested, Federico Fernandez should be restored to the starting lineup to partner with either Jordi Amat -- who played well in place of Fernandez last Sunday -- or Kyle Bartley. Being a backup central defender at Swansea is one of football's least rewarding jobs (injury-proof Williams has played every minute of Swansea's Premier League campaign this season) and with only a handful of rare starts to impress, Bartley in particular must be wondering if he'd be better off seeking regular action elsewhere.
Since Swansea are due a thorough squad makeover this summer, it would be prudent for the club to seek out players who can adequately cover more than one position. Players with the versatility of Stoke's Geoff Cameron or Manchester United's Daley Blind, for example, would help Swansea get more bang for their buck from a small squad and avoid the kind of atrophy around its fringes which has plagued the side throughout its Premier League tenure.
Two other starters who could use a rest ahead of their involvement in this summer's Euro 2016 are Gylfi Sigurdsson and Lukasz Fabianski. Both have played a part in every league game this season. Swansea have a very capable backup goalkeeper in Kristoffer Nordfelt who, like Bartley, might already be considering his options.
The Swedish international stopper is a valuable piece of the Swansea puzzle -- consider what would happen if Fabianksi were to be injured for any length of time --- and using the final two games of the season to reward him for his patience seems reasonable. It's not like Fabianski would complain, he'd probably appreciate the rest.
Sigurdsson has been in fine form this calendar year, so much so he has become the centrepiece in the Swansea game plan. Playing a couple of games without their star man would give the club a good chance to see if they can cope without him, and give Andre Ayew a chance to play the No. 10 role himself. Ayew played very well as a makeshift striker last Sunday, but Swansea are yet to find the Ghanaian's best position. With both men likely to be targeted by big money offers this summer, Swansea need to figure out exactly what Ayew is capable of should he be the only one of the two still in Swansea come next season.
Bony has been completely wasted at Manchester City, underused and victimised by too large a squad and the emergence of Kelechi Iheanacho. The former Swan is the kind of player who needs serious game time to excel, and he'd certainly get that at either Swansea or West Ham.
Perhaps a serious expression of interest from West Ham would force Swansea's hand, but if Bony did end up London-bound, maybe the Swans could negotiate for Andy Carroll instead.
A Carroll-Jefferson Montero partnership seems like it would produce a glut of headed goals a season, and no other forward outside of Jamie Vardy works harder than the Geordie.
It'd be a stark contrast to the slow motion of Bafetimbi Gomis and alongside Alberto Paloschi, Swansea would have an exhausting front line to contend with. It's food for thought for next season, which is also where Swansea's minds will probably be this Saturday.