Why Macauley Bonne would be an excellent signing for Swansea City
According to reports in the national press (h/t Wales Online), Swansea City are among a host of Championship clubs to be credited with an interest in Charlton Athletic striker Macauley Bonne.
QPR and Huddersfield Town are also understood to be in the race to sign the 24-year-old Zimbabwean international, who is expected to seek an immediate return to the Championship after suffering relegation from the second-tier with the Addicks at the end of last season. (h/t Wales Online)
Profile
Macauley Bonne started his footballing education in the youth ranks of Ipswich Town and had a brief stint with Norwich City before completing his development at Colchester United. He earned his senior breakthrough in football at Colchester and went on to score 15 goals in 84 appearances while also spending time on loan at Lincoln City and Woking in the fifth-tier.
The 24-year-old struggled to make a big impression in League One and League Two earlier in his career before a move to Leyton Orient paved the way for Bonne to register some eye-watering numbers.
The Zimbabwean hitman plundered an astonishing 45 goals in 90 appearances for Orient over the course of two seasons in the National League, prompting newly-promoted Championship club Charlton Athletic to take a punt on him last summer.
Bonne went on to enjoy a successful debut season in England’s second-tier, bagging 11 goals and 2 assists in 33 league appearances despite Lee Bowyer’s side suffering relegation.
Bonne would add more quality to Swansea’s forward line
Having suffered playoff heartbreak last term, Swansea have made a positive start to their campaign this time around. However, the lack of significant transfer activity continues to be a major cause of concern for the Swans, who have some gaping holes to fill in several key areas of the pitch.
And lack of a specialist centre-forward remains a pressing concern for Steve Cooper. The manager has been forced to rely on the likes of Andre Ayew and Jamal Lowe in front of goal this season so far but it goes without saying that they are crying out for more cover in that department.
Liam Cullen is expected to play a part for the Swans in the Championship this season but the Welsh U-21 international lacks enough experience to make a significant impact. Hence, Cooper certainly needs more depth and quality up top if he is to orchestrate another push for promotion.
To put things into perspective, Swansea going all out to sign Macauley Bonne would surely spell the end of their ongoing crisis in front of goal. The 24-year-old hit the double-digit mark in the goals column in his debut season in the Championship for Charlton last term, thus making the Zimbabwean worth a gamble for the Swans.
Bonne produced those returns in one of the struggling sides in the second-tier last season and he seems more than capable of bettering those numbers if teamed up with quality players around him.
Swansea have some really good creative players in Andre Ayew and Morgan Gibbs-White, meaning Bonne wouldn’t be short of service were he to make the switch to the Liberty Stadium this summer.
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Verdict
Macauley Bonne really caught the eye in the Championship last season and already has a lot of Football League experience under his belt. Swansea are in dire need of a tried and tested option in front of goal to reduce the workload on Ayew. The Zimbabwean ticks several boxes to come through the door as a handy addition to the club’s ranks.
