"Around the £10m mark" – Claim made as Sheffield United plot move for Swansea City's Harry Darling | OneFootball

Swansea City fan pundit Will Hughes has advised the club on how they should deal with the emerging interest in Harry Darling.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

With his contract running down in the summer, Swansea City defender Harry Darling has been linked with a move away from South Wales.

The Swans – currently on a six-game winless run - have slipped to 17th in the Championship and are only seven points clear of the relegation zone.

Despite the club heading for an underwhelming finish come May, central defender Darling has been a shining light in the Swansea backline, completing every minute of Championship football prior to their 5-1 thumping at Norwich City.

Such a vital player to Luke Williams’ side, promotion-contending Sheffield United have been linked with making a move to replace the injured Harry Soutter, according to the BBC, offering the 25-year-old a potential route to Premier League football next season.

The Blades are expected to rival League One Birmingham City for Darling’s signature, but Swansea would have only two senior central defenders left in Ben Cabango and loanee Hannes Delcroix, should Darling depart.

In a worrying situation before the 3rd February deadline, Swansea fan pundit Will Hughes outlined what his approach would be to this predicament.

Swansea City advised to keep hold of Harry Darling

Football League World's Swansea City fan pundit Will Hughes believes the club should be looking to retain Harry Darling for the remainder of the season, and should only part ways for a sizeable fee.

Hughes said: “This is a tricky one. I don’t think we should have let Darling get to this point with his contract, as he now could be potentially leaving on a free transfer in the summer, because we haven’t been able to tie him down to a longer deal.

“On the topic of value, I’d be looking around the £10m mark, and the reason I say this is because our rivals Cardiff sold Mark McGuinness to Luton in the region of £10 million, and if they can do that, then surely, we can get something similar for Darling, who I think is a better player.

“But with his current contract situation, if Sheffield United were to come in for him, I would accept between six and seven million, but I think that is still pushing it given he has only a few months left on his deal.”

Hughes added: “If we were to sell Darling, do we have an adequate replacement to come in? it doesn’t look like it, so that’s why I would recommend holding onto him for now.

“If we’d managed to bring in Joe Lowe, then I’d have been a bit more open to selling, but that’s knowing we have a replacement coming in, and if we sell him now and don’t sign anyone else, we’ll have just two centre-backs at the club, and only one is a permanent signing.

“For me, I’d keep hold of him but reluctantly, as I know we’ll more than definitely lose him in the summer for free.”

Swansea City face stick or twist decision involving Harry Darling

Swansea find themselves in an almighty pickle when it comes to Harry Darling’s future, with the transfer window continuing to tick down.

The only opportunity Swansea have of receiving some cash would be to sell him in the coming days, but there would be such a scramble to recruit a suitable replacement even with decent funds.

If Swansea were to lose Darling, their central defender options would be massively limited, and losing such an important presence in the backline could lead to the Swans being at risk of dropping further down the table towards the League One trap door.