Thursday 22 January 2015 22:33, UK
Swansea manager Garry Monk is confident Bafetimbi Gomis remains committed to the club despite the French striker saying he might leave the club in January.
Gomis raised doubts over his future in an interview with French television station Canal Plus last weekend, when the France international said he may leave because of a lack of playing time.
The 29-year-old has started only six league games since his summer switch from Lyon but the sale of top goalscorer Wilfried Bony to Manchester City appears to have cleared the way for him to lead the Swansea attack on a more regular basis.
Monk admitted he had spoken to Gomis about the interview and said he understood the forward’s frustrations.
"I'm confident Bafe will stay here," Monk said. "I've seen his comments and I've spoken to him but it's nothing new, it's the way it is in football now.
"Go back a few years and you wouldn't see these sorts of comments. But the conversation with me and Bafe stays between me and Bafe. That's the respect I have and how I do it.
"I understand from a player's perspective as well how he's been frustrated. He's not a young player who's up and coming, he has pedigree as he's a top performer who's performed his whole career."
Monk praised Gomis’ attitude in training and acknowledged the club will be relying on him to make an impact following the departure of Bony.
"He has been frustrated at the start of the season but I don't see an unhappy player," Monk said. "He's on the training ground with a smile on his face.
“He is very professional, gets on with his job and works hard. He's a pleasure to be with around the group as well and a pleasure to work with every single day.
"It's an important period for us as a club and him as a player as we're all trying to progress. The shirt is his to lose and it's proved in the past that strikers who have come in and done well for Swansea obviously create a lot of interest in themselves and go on to bigger and better things."
