Swansea City winger Wayne Routledge has signed a new contract at the club.
The new deal will run until June 2019, with the option of a further year being added depending on the player meeting an appearance-based clause in his contract for the 2018/19 season.
The 32-year-old originally had 18 months left on his contract before the renewal.
Routledge was the subject of his transfer speculation this month, with several outlets reporting that Championship side Birmingham City were interested in signing him for a fee rumoured to be around £3m.
Routledge has made 19 Premier League appearances this season, including 18 starts. He has scored twice and made one assist.
Routledge joined Swansea from Newcastle United in 2011, meaning he could reach nine years with the club if he triggers the clause in his contract.
What did Routledge have to say?
The winger said: “The club wanted me to stay here and I wanted to commit myself further. It was a no-brainer,”
“There was recent interest from other clubs” claimed Routledge, “but for me there wasn’t really a decision to be made about my future here."
He added that for a player labelled as a journeyman before he came to South Wales, it’s a nice feeling to have finally settled at a club.
Was this the right decision for Swansea?
In short, probably not.
Swansea now have five wingers on their books, Routledge alongside new recruit Luciano Narsingh, Nathan Dyer, Jefferson Montero and Modou Barrow.
Between them this season, they have just two Premier League goals and five assists. Narsingh has one goal and one assist in the Eredivisie this season in 801 minutes.
It’s also worth noting that Montero and Dyer were given long-term contract extensions in the summer, which was very poor planning by the decision makers at the club.
This news also means that Barrow is likely to leave the club this window, by process of elimination, with Newcastle and Aston Villa reportedly interested.
Routledge has been a tremendous servant to the club, and has been a key player since they got promoted in the Premier League. This news is baffling though.
He is 32, and has 18 months left on his contract. There are only a handful of wingers in the world who’s contract you should be thinking of renewing in this situation, and that list doesn’t include Routledge. (Think Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Ricardo Quaresma, Alexandr Semedov)
In 2013, Michael Caley looked at the Premier League’s ageing curve. The minutes played by age chart suggests that teams shouldn’t be counting on players aged 30+.
However, it’s more viable to play a 32-year-old centre-back than a winger. Which is why Michael Caley looked at an ageing graph based on attacking influence, shots taken per minute. We can see that between 32-34 (Routledge’s contracted years) that it doesn’t look good.
Routedge’s game isn’t based on shots, and yes there’s a big advantage in having experienced players on your books, Swansea already have that in Leon Britton and Angel Rangel among others. While the Daily Star revealed last week that Swansea have the 14th youngest squad in the league, averaging at 27.7.
The negatives outweigh the positives, but this deal does show the poor planning for the future from those high up at the club.