On Tuesday night, Jay Fulton made just his 6th Championship start since Russell Martin took over as Swansea’s head coach.
A regular and consistent performer under Graham Potter and Steve Cooper, the midfielder has found it near-on impossible to get chances in the side ahead of Flynn Downes and Matt Grimes.
Fulton’s season had a chaotic beginning – Russell Martin’s arrival late on in pre-season came whilst the Scot was side-lined with a bout of Covid-19, while also missing the first few games of the season with a suspension carried over from the play-off final in the previous season.
Fulton had been one of the first names on the team sheet under previous manager Cooper and, if circumstances were different, he potentially could’ve been under Martin – but opportunities to impress before Downes arrived at the start of the season went to Korey Smith and youngster Dan Williams.
A victim of other players form
It’s important to stress that Fulton has never been frozen out under Martin, nor has it been suggested that he isn’t part of the new manager’s plans, he has simply been a victim of the consistency of Downes and Grimes.
But, having featured off the bench in the South Wales derby victory three days previous, Fulton earned himself a starting berth at The Den as Downes was rested as he manages a niggling injury.
It is testament to the professionalism of a player whose contract could take him to 10 years at the club that Martin selected him ahead of Korey Smith, who is highly respected and valued by his boss due to his leadership and reliability on the pitch.
As previously stated, Fulton has not been afforded many minutes by Martin, but his attitude and commitment has been praised on numerous occasions.
In his post-match press conference after the Millwall victory, Martin stated that it was “the best he (Fulton) has played for us”, while admitting that he was “really pleased for him”.
Fulton reminded everyone how valuable he can be to the side with his performance on Tuesday evening. He adds bite to the midfield and is probably more cultured and comfortable on the ball than people give him credit for.
During his 79 minutes on the pitch, Fulton completed the most ground duels and aerial duels, whilst only being second to Matt Grimes for touches and passes completed.
His regular absence from the team this season doesn’t seem to have affected his attitude nor his ability and, if this was a chance to show Martin he deserves a place in the squad, then he certainly made a compelling case.
What next for Fulton?
So, what’s next for Fulton at Swansea? Can he cement a place in the side after an impressive showing against Millwall? It seems somewhat unlikely, but I cannot stress enough that this is not due to any fault of Fulton.
If Flynn Downes is back to 100% fitness for the weekend’s clash with Derby County, then he will more than likely be reintroduced the starting XI. It’s a difficult dilemma for Swans fans, let alone the manager, who generally rate Fulton fairly highly.
The majority would like to see the tough-tackling midfielder play more often, but it is also accepted that Downes and Grimes have almost earned the tag of ‘un-droppable’.
As for the future – it still seems likely that this will be Fulton’s final season in South Wales.
After joining from Falkirk in January 2014, it was expected that his spell would come to and end in the January window just passed, but there was no suitor found for Fulton after he turned down moves to Blackpool and Barnsley – possibly holding out for a more attractive offer or perhaps just wanting to stay in Swansea, where he is now firmly settled after 8 ½ years.
From a footballing perspective, Fulton is surely exactly the sort of player that Martin would love to keep around as a squad player while Swansea look to build on their first season under the new gaffer, but financials will have to play a part.
Fulton won’t be on astronomical wages – no one who has signed a contract with the club since relegation will be – but he’s likely to be on more than players such as Liam Walsh and Korey Smith who could be squad options for the upcoming campaign.
The Swans ability in the transfer market now firmly depends on funds brought into the club and Fulton’s wages could be reinvested into a high quality loan signing or a younger prospect for Martin and his staff to develop for the future.
Financial Dilemma
The situation is an example of how clubs have to operate on different financial scales in the second tier – Swansea would probably like to keep Fulton, but it may be considered a luxury that they cannot afford – whereas teams at the top of the league’s financial table such as Fulham and Bournemouth are able to bring in proven Premier League players and cherry pick the best players from other Championship clubs just as back-up.
As previously touched upon, Swansea will have to decide whether keeping Fulton as a squad player is it worth it financially when money from his potential departure could be used elsewhere to bolster the squad.
If Fulton was to depart the Swans in the summer, then he’d go out as a consistent, somewhat underrated performer.
He has registered 164 Swans appearances at the time of writing and will hope to add to that before the current campaign is done, before re-evaluating his position in the summer.
His decision to reject moves to two Championship clubs in January emphasise that he is not in any rush to leave the Swansea.com Stadium and, who knows, we could end up seeing him here for a little while yet.
This article was written by Theo Young