Why Swansea City signing Aaron Pierre would bolster their backline

According to claims from Football Insider (h/t Wales Online), Swansea City are weighing up a move for Shrewsbury Town centre-back Aaron Pierre in the January transfer window.

As per the report, the Swans are on the lookout for a new central defender during the mid-season trading period after losing Joe Rodon to Tottenham in the summer. Pierre has caught the eye for Shrewsbury in League One this season, emerging as a potential target for Steve Cooper’s side.

Pierre started his footballing education at Fulham before completing his development at Brentford, where he made only a handful of first-team appearances. The centre-back spent time on loan at Cambridge United and Wycombe Wanderers in the Football League, joining the latter on a permanent deal in 2014.

The Grenadian international made over 100 appearances for Wycombe in League Two and had a brief stint at Northampton Town before joining Shrewsbury Town in 2019. He featured 37 times in his debut season last term and has come to the fore with a string of impressive displays in the third-tier in the ongoing campaign. 

The 27-year-old has been a standout performer for Steve Cotterill’s side this term, starting 18 fixtures in League One so far. Besides his solid displays at the back, Pierre has also contributed with 4 goals, including the winner in a man-of-the-match performance against Doncaster Rovers back in December.

Meanwhile, Swansea City are flying high in the Championship after an impressive first half of the campaign. Currently placed 2nd in the standings, just 4 points adrift of pace-setters Norwich City, the Swans have established themselves as one of the prime contenders for automatic promotion. 

While they have managed just 27 goals in 23 games so far, Swansea’s sparkling run of form in the second-tier has been built on a rock-solid backline. Cooper’s side boast of the best defensive record in the division with just 13 goals conceded. That should ideally rule out the need to bring in defensive reinforcements this month.

Having said that, however, Swansea can certainly do with a bit more cover in the centre-back department heading into a crucial and hectic second half of the season. Rodon’s departure has left Cooper a tad light in his options at the heart of the defence.

Ben Cabango, Marc Guehi and Ryan Bennett have all shown great consistency in the manager’s preferred three-man defence. But the lack of quality alternatives could be a problem for the Welsh outfit in the coming months.

With Bennett recently picking up a knock and youngster Joel Latibeaudiere very much a peripheral figure, the acquisition of Aaron Pierre would definitely be a smart piece of business for the Swans.

The 27-year-old has been quite brilliant for Shrewsbury in League One and has more than enough experience in the Football League to add more depth and cover to Swansea’s backline.

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Verdict

Aaron Pierre hasn’t played in the Championship before but Swansea City can be hopeful of him making the step up to this level with so many games under his belt in League One and League Two.

Having said that, the powerful centre-back should be more than worth a punt for Cooper’s side before the January deadline as they look to secure a return to the top-flight.