Swansea would only sell Vipotnik for 'proper money'

Clubs will have to stump up "proper money" to prise star striker Zan Vipotnik away from Swansea City, according to head coach Vitor Matos, who is keen to keep the player for next season. The 24-year-old Slovenia forward is currently the top scorer in the Championship, with his two penalties in Monday's 2-2 home draw with Middlesbrough taking his divisional tally to 20. With five league games remaining, beginning with Saturday's trip to strugglers Leicester City (15:00 BST), Vipotnik is odds-on to claim the golden boot as the division's top scorer, with Coventry City's USA attacker Haji Wright his nearest challenger on 16.

Vipotnik has blossomed this season following a quiet first campaign after the Slovenian's move from French side Bordeaux on a free transfer in August 2024, catching the eye for the mid-table Swans. In March, Vipotnik signed a new long-term deal that ties him to south Wales until summer 2030, meaning Swansea are under no pressure to sell their prized asset. "There's nothing you can do to control the market," Matos said.

"What you can do is improve the player, offer him the best contract possible that allows him to be happy here, treating him with care and professionalism, and his family. "That's what we offer, that's what we want. He knows our project, he knows what we want for us as a club for the future.

"He wants to be part of that, if he didn't he would not have signed it (the new contract). "Of course we are like all the clubs in football, there's always a market and there's always a market that can come. "The good thing is that they need to come with proper money.