Swans close on Donnelly

Skysports.com understands Swansea are now closing in on the signing of Rory Donnelly after upping their offer for the striker.

Welsh club increase offer for Cliftonville striker

Skysports.com understands Swansea City are now closing in on the signing of Rory Donnelly after upping their offer for the Cliftonville striker. Swansea had initially been in pole position to sign the teenager after agreeing a fee, believed to be in the region of £100,000, earlier this month. Premier League rivals Everton and Liverpool subsequently declared an interest in landing Donnelly, who has visited Swansea for talks. The Welsh club's hopes of capturing Donnelly appeared to recede at the end of last week after Swans boss Brendan Rodgers revealed Cliftonville had backtracked on their agreement. Cliftonville later confirmed that Everton had made a 'considerably higher' offer than Swansea and it was thought Donnelly could be on his way to Goodison Park. The Northern Irish club had been hoping that a deal would be finalised before their Boxing Day encounter against Crusaders. However, it is now understood that Swansea are still favourites to bring in the 19-year-old after deciding to increase their offer for the highly-rated forward.