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This January transfer window has so far been one of frustration and disappointment for Swansea City fans.

Sitting on the £12 million pounds brought in by the sale of Jonjo Shelvey and with a bumper TV deal on the horizon for those who stay in the Premier League, the Swans have been waiting for the investment to bring about a revival.

There have been no shortage of names linked with a move to South Wales. In Manolo Gabbiadini and Seydou Doumbia, Swansea have reportedly been hovering over players with experience of netting at Champions League and at international level.

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But according to this mysterious tale, revealed by the club's Supporters Trust, things are far more complicated than simply splashing the cash.

According to their statement entitled 'Where do we go now?', the club were on the verge of bringing in a significant replacement for Shelvey.

That is, until the mystery man insisted on inserting a very dubious clause into his contract.

If Swansea were relegated at the end of the season, the clause meant the player could leave for nothing.

It is an anecdote that demonstrates how high the stakes are for teams near the bottom this month. Invest well and the rewards next season will be enormous. Invest poorly and the consequences could be grave.

The Supporters Trust are quick to point out that Swansea know that better than anyone.

They said: "I am sure many of us remember the financial mismanagement of previous regimes entrusted with our football club. You can go back to our previous time at the highest level when gambling on staying in the top flight and stadium expansion without balancing the books almost resulted in the extinction of our club a few years later.

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"Even more recently we saw similar mismanagement by Silver Shield and then Mike Lewis, which ultimately led to the club being placed in administration in order to secure the club’s future when the current owners came into power. As custodians of this club for future generations, we must not allow either situation to arise again."

They have also said that the club has a net deficit on transfers in excess of £40 million from the last three and a half years, and described the £50 million spent in the last 18 months as 'frightening'.

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The trust expressed their full confidence in Chairman Huw Jenkins, despite his difficulties in bringing in new players.

They said: "Huw was very candid in his views on where problems have arisen and the challenges the club currently faces in terms of bringing new people in and, while much of what was said has to remain confidential, it was good to hear first-hand that the club are working as hard as possible to address these issues and give us the best chance of Premier League survival whilst still working to the same ideals that have served us so well over the last decade.



"It has long been accepted that relegation will mean that some players need to leave to further their careers, however we have to try to ensure that such departures are on terms that contribute to securing our future."

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