Swans preparing for possible Michu departure to Arsenal.
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Swansea City manager Michael Laudrup has lined up Chelsea striker Demba Ba as a possible replacement for Spanish striker Michu if he joins Arsenal, CaughtOffside understands.
Michu only joined the Swans last summer from Rayo Vallecano, and proved a big hit in his first season in the Premier League, scoring 18 goals to fire Laudrup’s side to an impressive 9th place finish.
This fine form in front of goal has seen Michu emerge as a target for Arsenal this summer, as the Gunners are keen to bring in additions upfront after missing out on previous top targets Gonzalo Higuain and Luis Suarez.
Swansea have insisted that Michu is not for sale for any price, but it is thought that they may reluctantly accept a big offer of £25million, which Arsenal are thought to be willing to pay to land their man.
With Michu only costing £2million last summer, the club are set to make a big profit on his sale, and will look to reinvest some of the money in a big-name addition upfront, with Senegal international Ba thought to be top of their list.
The 28-year-old has shown himself to be one of the most prolific strikers in the Premier League in recent seasons with West Ham and Newcastle, though his form has dipped since moving to Chelsea in January.
With new Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho seemingly keen on improving his strike force in his high-profile pursuit of Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney, it seems likely that Ba could make way at Stamford Bridge if a new face is brought in before the end of the summer, and Swansea are hoping to capitalise on that.
The Welsh side have also been linked with Blues youngster Romelu Lukaku at points this summer, though the Belgian has been told he is part of Mourinho’s plans this season, after impressing on loan with West Brom last year.
Swansea could face competition from Roma for Ba, with the Serie A side keen to bring in a replacement for Italian international Pablo Osvaldo, who joined Southampton a couple of days ago.
It has already been a busy summer for the Swans, who have brought in some promising players in Wilfried Bony and Jonjo Shelvey, showing that they can attract big names to the Liberty Stadium, and they will be confident of persuading Ba to join if they fail to hang on to Michu.