Swans Linked With Two Dutch Legends For Managerial Job

As the managerial merry-go-round continues up and down the country, more names are being thrust into the Swansea hotseat, with both Jaap Stam and Frank De Boer now rumoured to be interested in taking the job.

The club parted company with Carlos Carvalhal last week following the club’s relegation and a number of names lined up to take the role

However, the odds have been slashed for the former Reading boss to take the job at the Liberty.

Chris Coleman remains favourite for the job at 2/1 with SkyBet, alongside Ostersunds manager Graham Potter, but Stam continues to emerge as a contender.

Stam has been out of a job since being sacked by Reading in March, while De Boer is also shortlisted, despite his disastrous spell at Crystal Palace.

It’s thought the club are hoping for a return to the ‘Swansea Way’, and a Dutch man would provide that according to the board.

De Boer was a target in December but the Swans opted for Carvalhal, who has left his post after just five months.

Swansea are hoping to have an appointment made relatively quickly, with plenty of business needed to be done in preparation for life in the Championship.

The club have already lost Leon Britton and Ki Sung-yueng, with more expected to follow.

Reports are suggesting that as many as 10 players could leave the Liberty this summer, so a quick turnaround and rebuild is necessary.

Currently the odds for the Swansea job looks as follows:

Chris Coleman - 2/1

Graham Potter - 2/1

Jaap Stam - 7/2

Cameron Toshack - 6/1

Michael Laudrup - 7/1

Chris Wilder - 9/1

Lee Johnson - 12/1

Frank De Boer - 14/1

Leon Britton - 14/1

Roque Mesa to Move on to Sevilla on a Permanent Basis

Swansea are set to offload Roque Mesa to Sevilla on a permanent deal according to reports.

The midfielder spent the second half of the season on loan with the Spanish club following Carlos Carvalhal’s arrival at the club, despite only joining the club last summer.

Signing for £11million, he struggled to make an impact at the Liberty before heading to Spain. It was a rocky start there too but earned his place in the starting eleven and kicked on from there.

Sevilla are now rumoured to be in the process of putting together a £7million offer for the Spaniard.

Paco Gallardo, deputy football director at Sevilla said, “The attitude that Roque Mesa has had with us has been splendid.

It fulfils all the profiles we want. A player with desire, with hope, humble, with quality.

Footballers with these characteristics are the ones we want to have in our side. We would like him to be with us, but it is something that is still to be finalised.

Once the coach is here, we will be able to continue advancing in the remaining matters so that Roque (Mesa) can be a Sevilla player.”

Mesa made just 16 appearances for the Swans and proved to be another flop at the club. Now, with City playing Championship football, they look set to lose £4million as the rebuilding process begins.

The Next Swansea Manager: A Look At The Early Contenders

Life hasn’t been easy for Swans fans in recent months, in fact when it’s come to the board’s choice in managers, it’s been a bit of a disaster.

But, they have a chance once again to make the right appointment, and this time it’ll be vital as the club will likely have to build a campaign that sees them promoted from the Championship.

Already there has been a number of names thrown into the hat, with the bookies are already shortening the odds of a few by the minute.

But whose in the running at this early stage? We take a look at the more likely candidates…

Chris Coleman

Chris Coleman is the standout favourite for the job after recently leaving his post at Sunderland.

The former Swansea player is a Wales legend following his Euro 2016 campaign with the national team and would certainly instil some of the togetherness and fight that the Welsh side had in abundance.

He’s 2/1 to get the job and it does seem as though it could be the perfect fit.

Leon Britton

Leon Britton’s Swansea future is up in the air a little with his contract about to expire. It could be a little more unknown now as the bookies place him as second favourite for a place in the dugout.

The 35-year-old took the role as caretaker manager after Paul Clement left and he’s due to make a decision on his future imminently.

It’ll be his first managerial role of course though and it’ll be one heck of a challenge to bounce straight back to the top flight.

Garry Monk

Despite having just taken charge of Birmingham, Garry Monk is at 8/1 to return to the Liberty Stadium.

He’s never really settled at a club since leaving Swansea back in 2015 and it’s perhaps unlikely the club will offer him a position at this moment in time.

Nathan Jones

Luton boss Nathan Jones is also at 8/1 after leading the Hatters into League One.

He’s been at the club since 2016 and has plenty of ambition. He’s earned his crust at the lower levels, but whether he’s the man to take Swansea on a promotion push is another question entirely.

Roberto Martinez

The man largely credited for Swansea’s rise to the Premier League was offered the job back in December, but the Belgium post was too good of a job to leave.

That will likely still be the case, unless he struggles throughout the World Cup. He’s at 16/1 to get the job, but even if Martínez was to become available over the summer, you’d hope the manager vacancy at the Liberty would have been filled by then.

Carvalhal to Leave at the End of the Season

Swansea boss Carlos Carvalhal will leave the club at the end of the season it has been confirmed.

With Swansea almost certain to be relegated from the Premier League this weekend, with only a 10-goal swing able to keep the Jack Army up.

Carvalhal was out of contract at the end of the season anyway and it has been decided by the Swansea board will not renew that.

Despite a positive start to his reign, the club struggled for goals in recent weeks and have gone eight games a week, all but confirming their exit out of the top flight.

The next hire will be crucial for the Swans if they’re to bounce straight back and there will be plenty of questions asked by fans and pundits alike following the recent failure of the former Sheffield Wednesday man.

Iwan Roberts, former Welsh striker said, “There’s some big questions: the owners need to come out and answer some questions as well.

“The club has tried to do things on the cheap, bring players in on the cheap.”

It’s going to be a huge summer for the club as they look to keep hold of players and find a new manager.

Chris Coleman will be hotly tipped after leaving Sunderland and as a man Swansea born and bred, he’d bring a major shake up to the club.

Craig Bellamy is another name being mentioned after missing out on the Wales job a few months ago. Either way, something is going to have to be pulled out of the bag with a run of Francesco Guidolin, Bob Bradley, Paul Clement and Carlos Carvalhal.

We wait in jest now as Swansea will need to come back from a truly dismal season.

With a lack of creativity, goals and the likes of Alfie Mawson likely to be moving on, it’s a major rebuilding job. The Swansea board need to get moving.

How The Next Few Days Could Go For The Swans

If you weren’t nervous before yesterday’s dismal defeat over Bournemouth, you certainly will be now.

The Swans have just two games to rescue their season after dropping into the relegation zone, and face a must win game against Southampton on Tuesday night.

Carlos Carvalhal’s men are level on points with their opponents but have a -7 goal difference on the South Coast side, and it really is make or break.

But what are the permutations in the final week of the season? Four teams can go down still. We take a look at who they face and their chances of survival

Swansea (33 Points)

The Swans perhaps have the best chance of survival. If we beat Southampton on Tuesday evening, only a draw would be required at home to Stoke.

There are two winnable games left for Swansea and with both at the Liberty, you’d expect the Jack Army to help seal Premier League football for another season.

Huddersfield (36 Points)

Huddersfield sealed a huge point against Manchester City at the weekend and you’d expect that to be just about enough for them.

They’ve two games left to make them mathematically safe, but they don’t come easy against Chelsea away on Wednesday and Arsenal at home on Sunday.

A win for either the Swans or Southampton would see them needing just a point from their final two games, while if it finishes a draw at the Liberty, Huddersfield will require two.

They’re three points clear of Swansea and Southampton currently and they will be certainly nervous going into their game at Stamford Bridge.

Southampton (33 Points)

A win in South Wales would sadly all but secure a place in next season’s Premier League for the Saints.

Due to the goal difference it could all but seal Swansea’s fate.

A draw puts them in all kinds of trouble though, as Southampton face Manchester City on the final day of the season. Swansea would then only have to better Mark Hughes’ result on the final day.

West Brom (31 Points)

West Brom are all but down and if either Swansea or Southampton win on Tuesday evening.

Only a draw will do and then the Baggies would need to beat Crystal Palace on the final day and require both Swansea and Southampton to lose in their last games, the latter with a five goal swing.

It’s going to be a nervy night on Tuesday, but the Swans have the best chance of survival out of the three. Home advantage will be key, but survival is in their own hands...

Fabianski Named Swans Fans’ Player of the Year

Of a season where only the few have really shone, Lukasz Fabianski has been named Supporters’ Player of the Year.

The Polish keeper has been instrumental in keeping the Swans outside the relegation zone in recent months, although that now stands at just a point clear.

There will be a full focus on finishing the season strongly before jetting off to Russia as part of his nation’s World Cup squad.

This weekend’s fixture is key to survival hopes with Fabianski saying, “This is the big one, we should all focus on that game because winning that game and getting three points is massive for us.”

The former Arsenal man has been an ever present in Swansea’s side this season, playing 32 of the club’s 35 in the top flight and he’s been key in the club’s quest for survival.

He’s ranked among the very best in the league when it comes to stats, a fantasy football players dream, and has saved multiple points for the club.

His consistency has made him a fan favourite and the club will want to keep hold of him regardless of their league status next season.

He beat the likes of Alfie Mawson, Federico Fernandez and Ki Sung-yueng to become the fans favourite, while Jordan Ayew also picked up three awards.

The Ghanaian international, who has bagged 11 goals for the Swans this season, picked up Players’ Player of the Year, Top Scorer and Goal of the Season for his stellar effort against Wolves.

Elsewhere, George Byers, a hot prospect for the future, secured Under-23s Player of the Season and Connor Roberts took the award for Best Newcomer of the Season.

Leon Britton, whose contract is up at the end of the season, also received recognition from the club he’s played for at every step in the Football League. He picked up the Community Champion Award, a week after picking up the Sportsmen’s Club Award.

It’s looking increasingly likely the 35-year-old will be saying goodbye to the club, 16 years after making his debut.

The Swansea Stars Heading To The FIFA World Cup

The World Cup is the last thing the Swansea players should be thinking about with a flurry of huge games between now and the end of the season.

Despite this though, a few members of the Jack Army will be wanting to stay fresh and fit across the next four games in order to board that plane to Russia.

With less than two months before kick off, we take a look at the members of Carlos Carvalhal’s squad that have a summer of football on the cards…

Lukasz Fabianski

There’s no doubt the Swansea stopper will be making his way to Russia following an impressive season with the club.

He’ll be fighting with Juventus’ Wojciech Szczesny for the Poland number one spot and could well get the nod with the former Arsenal man currently operating as a number two behind Gianluigi Buffon.

Ki Sung-yeung

Ki Sung-yeung has had a good season in a Swansea shirt and could use the World Cup as a shop window. He’s out of contract this summer and Carvalhal will be desperate to keep him.

The South Korean has 99 caps for his country and is a key man for his country. It’ll be tough for the Koreans to qualify from a group involving Germany, Mexico and Sweden.

Alfie Mawson

It’s probably around 50/50 as to whether young Alfie Mawson will head to Russia in Gareth Southgate’s 23-man squad.

He was selected in the recent England squad to face Netherlands and Italy but failed to make his debut. Whether Southgate will take an uncapped player to Russia is an interesting one, but if he continues to be a reliable force in the heart of the Swans back three, he could be the perfect fit for the Three Lions.

Martin Olsson

Martin Olsson has been an ever-present in the Swansea team since joining from Norwich last year and will also be a starter for the Swedes.

He’ll go head to head with teammate Ki Sung-yeung but will have much higher hopes of qualifying for the Round of 16.

Kristoffer Nordfeldt

Joining Olsson will be Kristoffer Nordfeldt. The 28-year-old has made just two Premier League appearances for the Swans and will likely provide backup for Robin Olsen, who took the gloves for their famous victory against Italy.

Renato Sanches

After struggling with the Swans this season, it’ll be interesting to see if the Euro 2016 winner makes the Portugal squad.

On loan from Bayern, it’s clear Carvalhal won’t wish to make the deal permanent. He failed to make Fernando Santos’ latest squad and his hopes really are fading. It’s going to take a huge effort for the 20-year-old get back in. He has four Premier League games to do it.