Swansea City are eyeing up a move for Oxford United striker Mark Harris – who used to be on the books of bitter rivals Cardiff City.

According to a report from Alan Nixon via his Patreon page, Luke Williams is keen on adding the Wales international to his attacking ranks for the 2024-25 season.

A former Bluebirds prospect, his previous stint in the Championship with Cardiff did not see Harris score many goals. However, last season he was able to notch 15 in League One following his move to the Kassam Stadium and 19 in all competitions, and Swansea will hope he is experienced enough now to transfer this performance into the second tier.

The news of Swansea wanting Harris comes after it was revealed by Football Insider that Jerry Yates is on the verge of signing for Championship rivals Derby County on a season-long loan.

Yates has had a poor season after signing for £2.5 million, so if the Swans pick up Harris they will hope for better fortunes.

Mark Harris to Swansea transfer latest

As Swansea begin their bid to sign new attackers, it is clear that Harris is one of the names at the top of that list.

The striker may not have displayed a prolific nature at Championship level in the past, but at 25-years-old he still has plenty of development left in him.

Whilst Oxford will be in the same division as the South Wales club next season, they are one of the relegation favourites, so a move to the Swans could seem appealing for the striker.

With two years left on his contract, you can imagine the U’s will demand an excessive fee for a player who started 42 of their 46 games last season.

In addition, his five caps for Wales will add a small premium on top of his price, so this is unlikely to be a cheap signing for Luke Williams.

Aside from Harris, the only other recognised target at striker currently is Notts County’s Macaulay Langstaff, although Millwall have submitted a transfer bid already for the prolific League Two hitman.

Mark Harris will want to prove himself in the Championship

Harris’ previous three seasons in the Championship have seen him really struggle, with the forward scoring a minimal nine goals in his 87 appearances.

For Swansea fans, this will come as a concern, but the regular game time he received, albeit in League One, will certainly have helped him reach his potential.

To support his claim of scoring goals will be head coach Williams, who helped his former player Langstaff score 69 across his last two league campaigns for Notts County. His mentorship could take Harris to another level and help him with the step-up to the second tier.

From Oxford’s point of view, the possible departure of Harris would be a sad one. Having signed on a free from Cardiff City last season, you can imagine that Des Buckingham’s side would have been expecting that they would get more than one season out of the forward.

But, his exploits have been enough to attract attention and if a hefty sum were to arrive, then you would imagine the U’s would gleefully accept it.

Time will tell where Harris will be next season, but having already played for Cardiff, Wrexham, and Newport County, he could have the unique opportunity to complete the feat of playing for every Welsh side in the EFL.