Paul Clement has given new signing Roque Mesa an early seal of approval, while admitting he is still unsure over Gylfi Sigurdsson’s future at Swansea City.
Spaniard Mesa, who joined from Las Palmas for £11million last week, came on for the final 20 minutes of the club’s 1-0 friendly defeat at Barnet on Wednesday night with head coach Clement handing the midfielder some valuable minutes ahead of the club’s three-game tour of the USA.
And the Swans boss was happy with his new recruit’s brief first performance in the club’s opening summer game.
“He gave us a nice rhythm when he came on,” said Clement.
“He wasn’t ready to play any more than he did because he had to go back to Gran Canaria to get his things, which meant he hasn’t trained much with us.
“But it was a positive start for him.”
Clement admits he is “not sure” whether Sigurdsson will remain a Swansea player next season.
The Iceland international played an instrumental part in securing the Swans’ Premier League survival last season by providing nine goals and 13 assists to be named the club’s Player of the Year for the second campaign running.
The 27-year-old’s form has led to reported interest from Everton and Leicester but Clement, who on Monday insisted Sigurdsson would only leave if the club’s valuation of £50m is met, says no offers have yet been made but revealed he does not know whether the former Tottenham man will remain at Liberty Stadium.
“I know there is a lot of speculation and clubs that are strongly interested in him, but there’s nothing more than that at the moment.
“We have not rejected anything and Gylfi has not come to us and said ‘I want to leave’.
“He is a player here at the moment. We are not sure whether he is going to be here for this season. If another club comes up with the right valuation, according to us, then it would be a different matter possibly.”
