Swansea City are set to battle two fellow Championship clubs as they monitor League Two top scorer James Berry according to reports.
The Chesterfield man is alongside four other players at the top of the charts in the fourth tier and is alongside Notts County‘s David McGoldrick and Doncaster Rovers‘ Luke Molyneux as the only ones not to score a penalty. At 23, he has already contributed four goals and an additional assist in 11 games so far this season, having joined last summer for their National League title season.
According to Football Insider’s Peter O’Rourke, three Championship sides, including Swansea City are monitoring his progress for Paul Cook’s side. His contract in Derbyshire expires in 2026, but Chesterfield are expecting bids in the winter transfer window for the left winger.
Alongside The Swans, Blackburn Rovers and Watford are known to be interested in Berry, who has been involved in 50% of all of Chesterfield’s league goals this season. Last time out he provided his first assist for Dilan Markanday as his side had their third home draw of the season against Cheltenham Town.
Having previously played in the Championship for Hull City, 23-year-old Berry emerged through the academy at Liverpool but failed to make a senior appearance for The Reds. He moved into the setup at Wigan Athletic for a brief spell before making the switch to East Yorkshire.
He was released by The Tigers in 2022 and made a move to previous loan club Macclesfield, playing 67 times in non-league before Spirites purchased him from former Derby County midfielder Robbie Savage’s club for an undisclosed fee.
All three Championship clubs have had strong starts to their seasons, with Watford being the early pacesetters until recently. The Hornets are on a three-game winless run in the second tier and have slipped to eighth ahead of welcoming Sunderland to Vicarage Road.
Swansea City are level on points with Tom Cleverley’s side having won their last two games against Norwich City and Cardiff City. Blackburn Rovers are the highest placed of the teams monitoring Berry and are yet to lose this season.
Writer’s View
With Luke Williams’ previous experience in League Two, it makes sense that he would be monitoring some of the league’s best younger talents. It was well known he was interested in reuniting with Macaulay Langstaff this summer, but ultimately ended up going to Millwall. James Berry has had a good start to life in the EFL with Chesterfield but it feels that the interest in the player may be too early.
Whilst he certainly has the potential to go a long way in football, you would presume it might be too soon for him to make a switch back to the Championship. Getting a full season at the top of League Two would do him wonders and likely would give Spirites a bigger fee should he go next summer. Should he make a switch in January, a loan move would probably be on the cards to a League One side.
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