By Paul Jones
Yannick Bolasie could play his final match for Swansea City when they club take on Premier League Bournemouth in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Thursday night.
Bolasie’ short-term contract with the club expires this weekend and although head coach Luke Williams is keen to keep hold of the 34-year-old former Crystal Palace and Everton star, tight finances and other irons in the fire for Bolasie mean that may not happen.
The Congolse striker – who was picked up by former Swans head coach Michael Duff in November, when the forward was without a club – has so far made two starts and seven appearances off the bench for the Swans.
Swansea City's Luke Williams expects 'flurry' of late business as he provides Yannick Bolasie update #swans https://t.co/zNriRirR7v pic.twitter.com/PMaN6OhGuR
— Swansea City Online (@SwanseaCityLive) January 24, 2024
But he may well get more action at Bournemouth as Swans striker Jamal Lowe has been ruled out for four weeks with a knee injury.
“I think he is a fantastic footballer and a really good guy so I have my opinions I am sharing with the football club on Yannick.” Said Williams.
“Let’s see if we can make the right decision for everyone involved.
“He has one or two things he needs to weigh up. He is not a kid, he is an experienced guy and he has other options and things in his life.
“He is training brilliantly – that’s the first thing you have to know – he is so focused and he is really great in the building, so this is definitely not a commitment thing.
“I like a lot of what Yannick’s about.”
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Before arriving at Swansea, Bolasie was playing at Turkish club Rizespor but was released in the summer of 2022.
He was then inactive until being picked up by Swansea as a free agent last November.
The one-time £25m striker could well figure at Bournemouth after starting alongside Jerry Yates in the Swans’ 2-0 win over Morecambe in round three.
It’s the second time the two sides have met this season, having also been drawn against each other in the Carabao Cup second round in August.
That match ended 3-2 to the Cherries, and the Swans will be hoping to reverse the result this time out.
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Bournemouth crashed to a 4-0 home defeat to Liverpool last weekend but had previously ruin in the Premier League of six wind and a draw in seven games.
Williams added: “Bournemouth are incredible. They have a very good group of players.
“Progression in the cup would be a brilliant way to encourage the team, and give the fans something really exciting to look forward to.
“We won’t use this game to make wholesale changes. I think a cup run would be brilliant, and it’s useful for us to see more games because I’m still learning about the group.”
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Bourmenouth manager Andoni Iraola said: “We have to take it seriously because I don’t think it’s going to be easy.
“We have experiences in past games against them in the Carabao Cup. It’s going to be a challenge for us.
“It’s not easy because they haven’t played so many games with their new manager, they’ve used different systems, they will change a little bit the way they play.
“They are very good players especially on the ball and we have to be ready to be intense, otherwise it’s going to be difficult to take the ball from them.
“They are a very good possession-based team.”
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