Boss says striker and defender are going nowhere.
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Swansea City manager Michael Laudrup has said that he is hoping to keep Ashley Williams and Michu at the club this summer despite reported interest in the pair from Arsenal, Sky Sports reports.
The former Getafe boss fears that suitable replacements would not be found in time if they were allowed to move on this month and is doing everything he can to keep them at the Liberty Stadium.
“It would cause huge damage because if you lose players of that quality you have to find replacements of the same level,” he said.
“That is why we cannot do that so late. If you sell someone and then try to buy, people know you have a lot of money.
“The price for the replacement would automatically go higher and higher, that’s inevitable.”
Laudrup has already made a number of significant signings this summer, most notably Vitesse Arnhem’s Wilfried Bony and Liverpool midfielder Jonjo Shelvey, but has said that he is unhappy that the window remains open for so long after the season has begun.
“It’s part of the game and as long as the rules are like that we get on with it,” he added.
“I went to the Premier League managers’ meeting last week and one of the questions asked was why we could not move the transfer deadline.
“What is the reason to have it close after we have started the season here and in Spain and Germany?
“The answer was that in the other big leagues there was not a lot of interest in moving it.
“I cannot understand why not, because every manager should be interested in having the deadline closed when they play the first game.”