THE border between calculated risk and recklessness can be blurry at times, but Michael Laudrup reckons his decision to sell Danny Graham was a successful example of the former.
When the striker was allowed to join Sunderland for £5 million in January, most expected Swansea City to replace the man who had been their top-scorer during the 2011-12 season.
Laudrup was linked with a move for players such as Kenwyne Jones and Iago Aspas, but no signing materialised.
It left a sizeable void in the Swansea attack, leaving them vulnerable if the prolific Michu was to suffer an injury.
Without the Spaniard, the Swans' only options up front would have Luke Moore and Itay Shechter, who scored only four goals between them in the last campaign.
With Shechter now gone, Swansea's supply of forwards is threadbare, prompting them to renew efforts to sign another striker this summer, whether it is Celta Vigo man Aspas or Chelsea's Belgian powerhouse Romelu Lukaku.
And although his side may be a few players short at the moment, Laudrup believes he was right to offload Graham.
"People talked a lot when we sold Danny Graham and we didn't bring in anyone," he said. "We wanted to bring in someone on loan but it was not possible. So I could have kept Danny here, but he would have been unhappy because he really wanted to go.
"The club got a lot of money for him which we can spend now in the summer on a permanent deal for someone else.
"More than a mistake, I think it was a risk. It was a risk if Michu had got injured for a month and a half at the same time.
"But it didn't and things went well."
With Swansea going on to win the Capital One Cup and secure a ninth-placed finish in the Premier League following Graham's departure, Laudrup is somewhat modest when he says his risk "went well".
Graham is still searching for his first goal for Sunderland having made 13 appearances for the Black Cats.
When Paolo Di Canio took over at the Stadium of Light this season, he even questioned whether Graham could play football. The 27-year-old's stock has certainly fallen since his return to his native North East, and he has been linked with a move to newly promoted Cardiff City as he struggles to settle in Sunderland.
As far as Laudrup is concerned, the £5 million in the bank and a successful season offer vindication for his decision.
"He's happy where he is right now, the club got a lot of money which they can spend and we survived in terms of goals," the Dane added.
"When the offer came in I spoke to Danny and he said 'I really want to go'. He wanted to go back where he is from and he was not playing regularly here.
"If I had gone safe just for the rest of this season and I kept him, we could have used him. But I had a player who was not playing regularly and who really wanted to go.
"If he stayed here he would not have had the possibility to go there after, not other clubs — he wanted to go there.
"So I think it would have been a mistake to keep him here.
"I admit then it was a risk not to bring anyone in. We had one or two targets but at the last moment it wasn't possible.
"One was a player who already plays in the Premier League and the other was a player from a club in Spain.
"But for one reason or another they couldn't come, only if we bought them for quite a lot of money and I didn't want to do that because I wanted to bring in other players in the summer."
