The on/off transfer saga for Swansea City’s Morgan Whittaker took another twist at the weekend after Russell Martin named the 22-year old in their squad for their Championship fixture, ironically, against Michael Beale’s former side QPR, however, 2pm came and his name was missing from the line-up.
Had the forward played then he would have been ineligible to play for another club this season but that risk has been averted after the player himself took things into his own hands.
Speaking after his side’s 1-1 draw, Swans boss Martin revealed why Whittaker wasn’t in the squad, as reported by Wales Online:
“I did the (pre-match) press conference and received a text from Morgs saying he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to travel with the squad, for a number of reasons.
“The situation hasn’t changed, we haven’t received any more bids from anyone. We have to respect that and be conscious he’s a young man in a difficult moment. His wellbeing is the most important bit.
“He’s got his family with him this weekend because he doesn’t want to think about football and we’ll assess the situation when we’re back in on Monday and see where we’re all at.
“It just means it’ll be a slower process, him trying to get back into the team if he’s still here in 12 days or whatever it is, which I envisage him being.”
It’s pretty obvious what Whittaker has done, he shouldn’t have been put in this position by his club anyway and Martin should have been more professional, there was no need to say that he intended to play him and could easily have protected the midfielder because they don’t play again until after the transfer window closes.
After playing in League 1 with Plymouth Argyle, it’s easy to see why Whittaker might be distracted after Rangers made two unsuccessful bids before the weekend, a potential move that his manager was ready to jeopardise.
A third bid is reportedly on its way, hopefully it’s one that Swansea accept.