Max Watters Crawly Town (Getty Images)
According to the Daily Mail, Swansea City are among a host of clubs in England keeping close tabs on highly-rated Crawley Town striker Max Watters.
Championship rivals Watford have been mentioned among the potential suitors for the 21-year-old, with Premier League outfits West Brom and Brighton also joining the race to sign the youngster ahead of the January transfer window. Watters has also attracted interest from some top-flight clubs in Belgium due to his exploits in EFL League Two this season. (h/t Daily Mail)
Watters has been in prolific form since joining Crawley Town on a free transfer back in October following his release from Doncaster Rovers. The London-born starlet has made a massive impact with 16 goals in 17 appearances across all competitions for the Reds, including 13 goals in 15 League Two appearances so far.
The centre-forward plied his trade with Thurrock, Barking and Ashford United in the non-league area earlier in his career before earning a move to the Football League with third-tier outfit Doncaster Rovers in 2018.
However, Watters managed just 5 appearances over two seasons, spending time on loan at Grantham Town, Mickleover Sports and Maidstone United in the lower divisions.
He was eventually offered a route back into the Football League by Crawley Town in October and Watters’ exploits have now put several clubs higher up the football pyramid on red alert.
As per the report, Swansea had a £500,000 bid for the striker rejected by the fourth-tier club and his price tag could well reach seven figures, with several top-flight clubs also interested.
The Welsh outfit have managed only 25 goals in 22 games so far, with several promotion rivals comfortably outscoring them. With the race for automatic promotion set to go down to the wire in the coming months, the Swans can certainly do with more depth and quality in their attack.
Ayew has been the key goal contributor while Lowe’s upturn in form – the former Wigan star has scored 4 in 4 league games in December – comes as a massive boost for the club.
However, with loan signing Viktor Gyokeres and youngster Liam Cullen offering very little, bringing in a new centre-forward would reduce the workload on Swansea’s first-choice strike pairing.
Putting things into context, Max Watters looks to have outgrown his humble surroundings at Crawley Town in League Two, registering some crazy numbers. He doesn’t have a lot of games in League One under his belt but a step up to the Championship shouldn’t be beyond his reach if he continues to progress down the right path.
Watters might only be a squad option for Swansea during the second half of the season even if a move does materialise in January. However, that’s exactly what the Swans need at the moment, with Lowe and Ayew very much among the first names on Cooper’s teamsheet.
Watters is unlikely to be an immediate game-changer in the Championship but could prove handy if he manages to chip in with some valuable goal contributions.
Max Watters looks like an exciting prospect with plenty of room for development at 21. Cooper is right up there when it comes to nurturing young talents. Having said that, Swansea City winning the battle to sign the prolific League Two starlet in January would hand a real long-term boost to their attack.