���˿���

Luke Williams believes Jamie Paterson has earned the right to consider his options this summer but says the offer of a new Swansea City contract “won’t be there indefinitely”.

Paterson, 32, will be a free agent when his current deal expires at the end of this month.

Williams is keen to keep Paterson but accepts the attacking midfielder, who scored eight goals last season, is likely to be interesting other clubs.

“He has got a few different things to weigh up and he has earned that,” the Swansea head coach said.

“He is a proven Championship player. He is very popular and very well known in football - the qualities he has as a person and as a footballer. The ball has kind of been hit over the net [into his court] so we will see what happens.”

Paterson has scored 17 goals in 109 appearances since joining Swansea on a free transfer in 2021.

After a contract dispute during his first season in Wales, Paterson signed an improved deal in the summer of 2022.

A popular figure with players and fans, Paterson said in March it was “quite obvious” that he would be keen to extend his stay at Swansea.

While he is staying patient for the moment, Williams says the Championship club “would need to be more clear” on Paterson’s situation by the time his squad return for pre-season at the beginning of July.

“[The contract offer] won’t be there indefinitely because potentially players will arrive at the club and the landscape will change,” Williams said.

“But Pato knows exactly what he is doing and we are happy with everything at the moment.”

Swansea have agreed new contracts this summer with veterans Kyle Naughton and Joe Allen.

Williams views Paterson as another player whose experience would be hard to replace.

“He falls into that category that he is now a senior player,” he added.

“They have a different outlook on life and they have earned the right to have more choices in their life.

“I don’t know, but if I had to guess, he will have been in contact with different people [at other clubs], or through his agent, because he has been playing Championship football for a number of seasons and doing it pretty well.

“We will see in the coming weeks what the decision is.”