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On Monday afternoon, Swansea City completed the signing of former Premier League ace Yannick Bolasie, who also has extensive Football League experience with Middlesbrough, Aston Villa, Bristol City and Plymouth Argyle.
The move would possibly have come as a surprise to some, given that the winger is now 34 and spent last season in the second tier of Turkish football with Rizespor.
But Swans manager Michael Duff believes Bolasie could still be a real asset to his team, and prior to the signing, he told Wales Online: “He hasn’t got the pace and power he once had, but you don’t get bought for £25m (by Everton) if you don’t know how to handle a football.
“It’s going to be a two-month contract and we’ll see how it goes from there. “
The Swansea club have shown the short length of Bolasie’s contract.
At the start of the season, the goal of Michael Duff’s team was to qualify for the play-offs, but that is no longer imaginable for the South Wales team, who are as close in terms of problems to the bottom three as they are to the top six.
The club is desperately short of Joel Piroe following his summer move to Leeds, with the club’s most sensible goalscorer, Jerry Yates, scoring just five goals.
The Swans obviously want a spark from somewhere, and a player with Bolasie’s raw skills and prowess will well be the answer, though of course there will be skeptics due to the wide player’s age.
But if things don’t work out between the Congolese foreigner and his new club, then they will be able to liquidate him back at the end of his two-month stay on the south coast of Wales.
In addition, during his time at Turkish side Rizespor, Bolasie was more clinical than ever, scoring 19 goals in 53 appearances, more goals than he has scored at any other club.
The winger hasn’t played football since the end of last season, but the Swans are also on to what they’d like to achieve, so either side can adapt in a potentially win-win situation.
At 34, Championship enthusiasts can be forgiven for suggesting that their most productive days are in the past, but the second tier can offer a thriving environment for veterans of the game.
For example, when Huddersfield Town signed defender Tom Lees in August 2021, when he was 31 years old, many thought his days in the league were over, especially as they had just been relegated to Sheffield Wednesday.
But the centre-half proved his worth, and was a key member of the Terriers side who shocked everyone by reaching the 2022 Championship play-off final.
Lees, now 33, continues to serve his club well, making nine appearances this season.
As his career has shown, Bolasie is a player with some pretty impressive ball control, and if he maintains the same sense of purpose he had in Turkey, then the Swans faithful could be in for a treat.
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