Swansea hit the magical 40-point mark with a win against Chelsea a week ago, but followed that result with a lethargic 3-0 loss at Newcastle yesterday.

Fans were rightly annoyed by the Welsh side’s lack of commitment and effort throughout yesterday’s game, with fingers being pointed at the senior players for not being interested now that they have secured Premier League football for another year.

This isn’t to say that the players haven’t got a right to relax, seeing as for the vast majority of the season, the main goal was to avoid relegation and at time it was thought that they wouldn’t do it. Not only have they made sure that Swansea would be in the Premier League next season, but they did it comfortably with five games to go.

It is a big achievement and perhaps they are due an extended holiday, especially with several players gearing up to go and play for their countries at the upcoming European Championships in France this summer.

Swansea remaining fixtures are away to Leicester, home to Liverpool, away to West Ham and round the season off at home to Manchester City. None of those games will Swansea be favoured for, apart from potentially the Liverpool game due to the possibility of Jurgen Klopp resting senior players ahead of an Europa League tie.

Now, onto the youngsters who could see some playing time before the end of the season.

Stephen Kingsley

The Scottish full-back was given his Premier League debut in the win at Arsenal, where he was very impressive.

He followed this up with another good performance in the home win against Aston Villa, despite not having a traditional winger ahead of him, the 21 year-old held his own in both defence and going forward, where he looks more of a threat than Neil Taylor

Stephen Kingsley looks one of the brightest prospects coming out of Swansea’s youth academy, and it shouldn’t be a shock if Francesco Guidolin does look towards him in the remaining fixtures.

Fulton in action. | Image: ESPN FC
Fulton in action. | Image: ESPN FC

Jay Fulton

Another young Scottish player in Swansea’s ranks, this time a midfielder named Jay Fulton. The former Falkirk man has only completed 20 minutes in the Premier League this season, also in the win at the Emirates. He then incidentally faced Jack Wilshere in an under-21 game recently and was terrific in the 3-1 win.

Fulton spent the first half of the season on loan at Oldham Athletic, where he became a regular starter in the side. He also was a big part of the win at Southampton last season, which most will remember for Jonjo Shelvey’s late wonder-strike but Fulton was just as influential in the midfield battle.

With Ki Sung-Yeung out of the picture, Leon Britton struggling with a foot issue and Jack Cork surely exhausted at this point, Fulton should definitely see some game time between now and the end of the season.

Kenji Gorre

Wingers are Swansea’s strength right now, even though the loss to Newcastle may not prove so. With Jefferson Montero, Andre Ayew, Modou Barrow and Wayne Routledge in the squad those wingers have absolutely everything. However, what could go wrong with adding another explosive player to the ranks?

Kenji Gorre spent the first half of the season on loan, like Fulton. Gorre spent his time away from Swansea on the bench at Eredivisie side ADO Den Haag though. Since his return, he has lit up the under-21 side as he did so last season.

Gorre has been involved in six goals in six games in the Under-21 Premier League, scoring four times and adding two assists. On the left flank, Gorre was the top scorer for Swansea in last year’s Professional U21 Development League 2, and scored two goals in the final which saw his side win the title.

There are several others that could be included too, such as Oliver McBurnie, who scored a hatrick on his debut on loan at Newport County only to be recalled shortly after and not seeing any senior playing time since.

Adam King has been in-and-around the senior side for a while now, and his impressive performances for the under-21 team will only give him hope that Guidolin puts his trust in youth for these last four games of the season.

Some senior fringe players should also get some playing time, as they have a point to prove with either a new manager coming in next season or just so they can prove they deserve more minutes. Players such as Marvin Emnes, Kyle Bartley and Kyle Naughton have shown flashes of talent but will probably be on the way out of the club this summer unless they can prove to be a viable option.

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About the author
Jack Mceachen
Sports Journalist in Staffordshire University.