Swansea City's striker search just took another twist as club look overseas

The cogs of Swansea City's summer might well be starting to turn.

The importance of this window has been stressed so many times it's a point that now borders on cliché. Every position appears ripe for strengthening, and that's always a daunting place to be at the beginning of a transfer window.

However, there's one area in particular that now looks in urgent need of attention.

READ MORE: Swansea City closing in on Korean star as emergency meeting held and agent speaks out

READ MORE: Swansea City striker Jerry Yates set to join Derby County on loan

Swansea arguably needed a striker anyway, but the impending departure of Jerry Yates has further depleted their stocks of attacking talent. Indeed, unless one counts the enigmatic Mykola Kuharevich, Liam Cullen now looks to be Swansea's only real out-and-out striker.

Yates was brought in shortly before Joel Piroe's departure last year, and his struggles in stepping out of the Dutchman's shadow so often made him the fall guy for what was Swansea's most disappointing season since they were relegated from the Premier League.

The frustration was justified at times, but the intensity sometimes felt a little over the top. After all, Yates did end up as the club's joint-top scorer with Jamal Lowe, but their combined 18 goals still short of the tally Piroe offered on his own. In the cold light of day it's difficult to argue that his time in south Wales has been a roaring success.

Now, with both him and Lowe set to be absent from the ranks ahead of the new season, the need for some goalscoring muscle could not be more pronounced.

In fairness, if the noises coming out of the club are to be believed, it's a point not lost on the decision-makers at the Swansea.com Stadium.

The club are understood to be assessing a number of options, and insiders insist they are working hard to ensure their outgoing number nine is replaced.

Yates' loan to Derby County doesn't contain any option or obligation to buy, although the Rams have agreed to pay his wages for the season. Taking the 27-year off the books for a season will certainly aid efforts to gather the funds needed to move for one of their targets this summer.

Some might wonder whether Notts County striker Macaulay Langstaff might well be someone the club will look at, although interest in the striker appears to be a little more muted than previously thought.

Luke Williams is, for obvious reasons, a big fan of the 27-year-old, but there doesn't appear to have been any real moves made to try to snap him up at this stage.

Whether that will change before the close of the window remains to be seen, although if the Swans were to step up any interest, they would face competition. Millwall have already launched a bid to sign the Magpies captain, and there are likely to be other clubs hanging around in the background keeping tabs.

But while there's uncertainty over the level of interest in Langstaff, the club are certainly very keen on Korean winger Eom Ji-sung, with the player's agent appearing to suggest that a move will get over the line should Swansea manage to agree a fee with K-League outfit Gwangju.

Insiders have stressed that the 22-year-old would be signed as a winger rather than a striker, but while seemingly unrelated to Yates' exit it's a move that is still indicative of Swansea's approach to this window.

Having already dipped into the European market to sign Ronald back in January, it's likely the club will once again look beyond these shores for a potential gem.

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Goalscorers are hard to find, and not exactly cheap. But as the capture of Piroe proved, there is some real joy to be had, and the rewards could be lucrative.

Ronald himself has largely been considered a success, and there's actually some belief the Brazilian might have the attributes needed to play as a number nine in the future.

That's an experiment we may well get to see at some point during the season. But as things stand, it would be something of a short blanket conundrum. Moving Ronald up top clearly risks leaving the Swans short of wide options - even if they manage to capture Eom from Gwangjung.

It's not even July yet, but there are clearly already a lot of moving parts to this window, but as always the end result will be the only thing that matters.