WITH their play-off dream finally over, Swansea City have been hit by another bombshell as star striker Jason Scotland revealed he wants to leave for the Premiership this summer.
But, after two highly-successful seasons at the Liberty Stadium, the prolific front man is keen to test himself at the highest level before he passes his prime.
Having been named in the Championship’s PFA Team of the Year and with more than 50 goals to his name in two seasons at Swansea, Scotland won’t be short of potential suitors.
Middlesbrough and Fulham have already been linked to the £2m-rated striker.
The Trinidad and Tobago international accepts that, with one year left on his contract, any transfer will be on Swansea’s terms.
But, having recently celebrated his 30th birthday, he knows it could be a case of now or never for his Premiership dream.
“The Premier League is where I want to be,” he declared.
“I am contracted to Swansea for another year, but if an offer came in then I would have to take a long look at it and weigh up the options.
“I am still under contract at Swansea City and it’s up to the chairman and gaffer what happens. But if someone came in then I’d have to look at it seriously.
“Every player’s ambition is to play at the highest level and that’s the Premier League. I want to be there sooner rather than later.
“I am not getting any younger. I am 30 and managers will probably start saying I am losing half a yard because I am getting older.
“My agent said he’d heard interest from certain clubs, but he wouldn’t tell me who. He will probably speak to the manager and chairman and I guess we’ll know everything in the summer.”
While the news that Scotland, a firm fans’ favourite, wants to leave is bad enough in its own right, perhaps the biggest concern is that his comments will simply be the start of things to come for Swansea this summer.
After a phenomenal debut campaign in the Championship, a number of Roberto Martinez’s star players are being linked to moves elsewhere.
Midfield maestro Jordi Gomez, another member of the PFA Team of the Year, has been linked to a host of top clubs in recent months while his fellow Spaniard Angel Rangel has been attracting attention for some time now.
Even Ferrie Bodde, who has been out since November with a cruciate knee injury, has found his name once again being tossed into the transfer rumour mill.
The situation is such that club captain Garry Monk took the unprecedented step of publicly urging the board to offer star names better wages to try to keep them at the club.
The experienced defender is expecting several big bids to come in this summer and claimed it was imperative Swansea kept their current crop together.
But, as Scotland points out, money isn’t the only motivation players have when considering their future.
And, having failed to make the Premiership at Swansea this time around, he admitted it is his footballing ambitions that could force him to move on.
“If we were in the Premier League then you wouldn’t need to think about the interest from other clubs,” he explained.
“The gaffer wouldn’t have to fight to keep any players.
“I want to play in the Premier League before it’s too late. Obviously I wanted to do it with Swansea, which would be a massive achievement, because that would have meant I was playing week in, week out and not fighting for my place.”
As for the feelings towards the club, he added: “It has been a great two years. When I first came to Swansea there were other clubs interested, but I didn’t want to go anywhere else.
“I knew they played great football and I wanted to be a part of that. I have no regrets about coming here and it has been two outstanding seasons.
“It has been a great move for me.”
The fact Scotland has made such a big impact explains why fans will be so bitterly disappointed if he departs this summer. And it’s a disappointment you would expect Martinez to share if he were to lose one of his key players.
But, realistically, it won’t come as a surprise to the Spaniard. And it would be very naive to think that he doesn’t already have replacements lined up should the worst happen.
In his brief career as a manager, Martinez has already proved that he can bounce back from the loss of big name players.
And, just like when Lee Trundle and Andy Robinson left, it’s fair to assume he will know how to move Swansea forward with or without Scotland.
“You don’t want to keep players that are not happy,” he said when asked about a potential player exodus.
“You want to keep players who want to win football games. If players move on that’s a great compliment because it means we are doing something right.
“I will be surprised if Premier League clubs don’t come in for my players – I would take eight or nine there – but you never know what happens in football.
“Nobody was asking about them before, but I will keep improving my squad.
“We have improved the squad in every window and that’s down to recruitment at the club.”
While all the post-match focus was on players leaving and what will happen next season, neither Scotland nor Martinez would have said what they did if Swansea had emerged victorious at Bramall Lane. At least not for another week anyway.
But, against a team still fighting for automatic promotion, the Swans never really hit top gear.
And, even though they had chances to cancel out Wales international David Cotterill’s 37th-minute penalty, Dorus de Vries was definitely the busier goalkeeper.
Despite the stakes involved, neither team really got going until Cotterill scored.
And, had Monk not brought Stephen Quinn down in the box, it would have been interesting to see when desperation actually started to kick in.
Even after the goal, it wasn’t until the start of the second half, when two superb saves from de Vries denied Darius Henderson and Craig Morgan, that the game truly sprang to life.
But, while substitute Danny Webber had chances for the Blades, a Gomez volley over the bar from a quick Andrea Orlandi corner was all Swansea had to offer for their efforts.
In the end, Swansea simply didn’t know how to break down United’s defence.
And, after Rob Styles’ final whistle ended their late play-off charge, Swans fans were left wondering how many of their heroes would continue the fight next time round.