WITH the majority of Town’s squad enjoying a mid-season break under the sun in Tenerife, it’s been talk of possible departures and the Asian Cup making the headlines in Wiltshire.

Every Town fan knew that eventually other clubs outside League One would finally spot our most talented players, and come snooping around at the end of January.

With Massimo Luongo in contention for winning player of the tournament at the Asian Cup, there’s no surprise that Wolves, Brentford and Spanish La Liga side Sevilla have taken a serious interest in our Aussie midfielder.

Luongo is destined to play in the Premier League, no doubt, but his next career move will be a decisive one for the 22-year-old.

I hope Mass and his agent aim much higher than Brentford, nothing personal against the bees, but despite their current success, he needs to be looking towards a club who has serious promotion credentials going forward.

Hopefully the club and the player can come to an agreement that he’s free to move on in the summer, but stays for the rest of this season and help’s the club who gave him that platform to perform by pushing us towards the dream of promotion.

Another player linked with a move away has been Nathan Thompson, with reported interest from Bolton Wanderers.

Nathan Thompson isn’t just the captain of our club, but one of the vital cogs in Mark Cooper’s machine, if you take him out of it, the whole thing would fall apart.

If you watch him during any game, he is constantly helping both young defenders Jordan Turnbull and Jack Stephens, and is not afraid to tell anyone on the team if they are not pulling their weight.

If I had no choice but to sell either Luongo or Nathan on transfer deadline day, I’d have to sell Mass.

Don’t get me wrong, Luongo is one of the best midfielders I’ve ever seen at Swindon Town, and there’s no doubt he will be successful, but nothing in football beats having a talented home grown player captaining the side he supports every week.

This weekend after a two week break, Town returns to action to face fellow promotion chasing side Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

Bramall Lane holds an important place in Swindon Town’s history; as it hosted Town first ever top-flight game, but despite that landmark, it’s never been an enjoyable trip for Town fans.

Due to the club’s last victory coming 45 years ago, when on 9th February 1970, goals from John Trollope and Arthur Horsfield secured a 2-1 victory.

With Sheffield Utd playing in a League Cup semi-final against Tottenham at Bramall Lane on Wednesday, that should give a fresh Town side a big advantage going into this weekend’s fixture.

Follow me on Twitter @danwjonson

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