Swansea is eager to keep the 25-year-old, who is in his third season in south Wales, but manager Luke Williams recently disclosed that negotiations for a new contract are being put on hold until the end of the current campaign, raising the possibility that he might go for nothing in the summer.
Although Bristol City has previously been linked to Darling—they inquired about him at the close of the summer transfer window—the defender’s contract status may compel Swansea to make a move this time.
When we asked our Bristol City supporter, Tom Sandy, what he thought of his team’s connections to Darling, he said that although he will be a valuable addition, he doesn’t think the Swansea player will make it into the starting lineup because of the depth the Robins have in the back.
Tom stated in an interview with Football League World: “It has been revealed in recent days that Bristol City is very interested in signing Harry Darling.
I am unsure about the veracity of the rumor. Around the end of the summer, there was also a rumor that we were considering him, but it never materialized.
“That would be a very wise choice. Since his contract expires in the summer, we would be able to acquire him for a low price.
I don’t believe he would break into our starting defense at this time, regardless of if it’s a position we need right now. He isn’t superior to Vyner, in my opinion, and he isn’t superior to Dickie either. When playing well, McNally is arguably our greatest center defender.
He is a rather excellent left-sided center-back, and since we are very short on players who will be under contract in the summer, I believe he would make a good addition.
Due to his lack of playing time and the fact that his contract is expiring, Kal Naismith is most likely going to be leaving. Since we have other players whose contracts are expiring, it makes sense to add another center-back to our roster for depth.
“It makes sense to sign Atkinson now because he will return from loan at the conclusion of the season, but it’s unclear if he will be a long-term member of the team. I don’t know, but he plays ball, and Manning would enjoy that.
He’s not exactly what we need, but it’s a logical signing to make, especially as he is running out of contract. Birmingham is also interested, and they’ll probably be able to outbid us, but you’d like to think that he’ll have a say in the move as well. Swansea to Bristol isn’t a long way to move your life and your family, so I think it would make sense for him to make the move.
Since Swansea City is only three points behind Bristol City in the Championship standings and Darling is having his finest season as a player, leaving a team where he starts every game to sit on the Robins’ bench would be a step backward.
It would be odd to join Bristol City if Darling wasn’t going to play, but you could understand if he left to sit on the bench of a Premier League team or even a top Championship team.
However, given his strong play this season, the defender might push his way into Liam Manning’s starting lineup if he did decide to go to BS3.
Darling is among the top 10% of Championship center-backs in terms of duels won (129), blocks (6), and recoveries (100), according to Fotmob. He is also among the top 10% of players in his position in terms of touches (2,098), successful dribbles (8), touches in the opposition box (42) and successful passes (1,546) as well as shots (28).
Whilst the 25-year-old is an excellent defender, one of his biggest strengths is his ability to drive forward with the ball, and he’s got more shots on target (11) and more fouls won (44) than any other Championship defender.
It’s easy to see why clubs are interested in him, and it’s perhaps a surprise that more clubs aren’t keeping tabs on him given his form this season.
However, Darling will want to move somewhere where he’s playing every week, just like he is at Swansea, so it leaves him with a decision to make this month.
