Swansea City

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Swansea City are set to benefit from Flynn Downes’ expected move from West Ham United to Southampton.

Midfielder Downes left the Swans to join the Hammers for an initial £9m, potentially rising to £14m with add-ons, in the summer of 2022.

But following a loan spell with the Saints last season, Downes is now poised to move to St Mary’s Stadium on a permanent basis in a deal worth up to £18m.

And due to terms agreed when Downes left Swansea, then managed by current Saints boss Russell Martin, the Welsh club will be due a percentage of the profit made by West Ham when Downes’ switch to the south coast of England is completed.

Downes featured 39 times in all competitions during his sole season at Swansea having joined from Ipswich Town for £1.5m in 2021.

He made 35 appearances across all competitions with boyhood club West Ham during the 2022-23 season, although the majority of those came as a substitute as David Moyes’ side won the Europa Conference League.

After being reunited with Martin, Downes was handed a prominent role last season, featuring 37 times as the Saints gained promotion into the Premier League via the play-offs.

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Swansea City have confirmed that they will face North Macedonian sided FK Vardar on their upcoming pre-season tour to Austria.

The game will take place at Sportzentrum Friedberg at 12:00 BST on Saturday, 27 July.

It will be Swansea's second game of the Austria tour after they face German Bundesliga 2 side FC Koln at Thermenstadion Bad Waltersdorf on Wednesday, 24 July.

FK Vardar play in the Macedonian top flight and have previously faced Welsh opposition - taking on Barry Town in a Uefa Champions League qualifier in 2003.

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Swansea City head coach Luke Williams said his players needed an opportunity to release their "frustrations" on the pitch in the club's first pre-season fixture.

The Swans beat League Two Swindon Town 3-1 in a behind closed doors game at the club's Fairwood training complex on Saturday.

Liam Cullen, Matt Grimes and Mykola Kuharevich scored the goals in a match that followed a morning training session.

Williams told the Swansea City website his players "needed to go and play against live opposition."

"There are a lot of double sessions so there is a lot of frustration for the players to release on the opposition today," he said.

Williams will oversee a week of "hard work" on the training pitch in Fairwood before the squad heads to Austria for a week of preparation which will again involve double training sessions.

New signing Goncalo Franco watched the victory against Swindon but has now finally trained with his new club after he joined from Portugese side Moreirense.

The 23-year-old midfielder's pre-season preparation had been delayed as paperwork was finalised and Williams is looking forward to his contribution.

"I’m sure he is going to be an entertainer. I think he understands already the level of commitment that he has to show," said Williams.

"I think we need to get him up to speed with conditioning, he is a bit off that which is normal of course, so we have a nice few weeks in store for him to get him to the right condition."

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Former Swansea City defender Alan Tate has been named Steve Cooper's number two at Leicester City.

Swansea legend Tate, who left the club in 2021 to join Cooper's staff at Nottingham Forest, had been out of work since departing the City Ground last December .

With Cooper succeeding Enzo Maresca at the King Power Stadium, 41-year-old Tate will once again link up with the Welshman as his assistant.

Goalkeeping coach Danny Alcock, who also left Forest following Cooper's departure, has also joined the Foxes as part of the backroom team.

Former manager Harry Griffiths outlines his football philosophy in this 1977 BBC Wales interview with reporter Peter Walker.

Griffiths, who enjoyed 25 years as a Swansea Town player, is often credited with laying the foundations for John Toshack's successful reign as Swansea City manager.

Toshack took charge in 1978 and kept Griffiths on as his assistant. Sadly, Griffiths would pass away shortly before the team's promotion from the old Fourth Division that year. He was only 47.

Ian Hunt
BBC Sport Wales

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A possible reunion between Luke Williams and Macaulay Langstaff in Swansea is off after Millwall signed Notts County's star striker.

Langstaff had been strongly linked with the Swans this summer, having scored 70 goals in 90 starts for the Magpies in the National League and League Two.

It was thought the fact Langstaff played under Williams at Meadow Lane would give Swansea the edge to sign him - but he is heading for south London rather than south Wales.

The prolific 27-year-old has sealed a move worth a reported £700,000 to Millwall, where he will be working under ex-Cardiff City boss Neil Harris, a former striker himself.

The Lions have signed a player who won the League Two Golden Boot award for 2023-24, having scored 28 goals - four more than both Wrexham’s Paul Mullin and Salford City’s Matt Smith.

He was also named in the EFL Team of the Season for League Two, two years after joining County from Gateshead in 2022.

Missing out on a goalscorer as prolific as Langstaff is a blow to Swansea, even if he is untested at Championship or even League One level.

Swansea are desperate for a striker capable of at least getting close to the 20-goal-a-season mark.

Last season's top scorer for the Swans in the Championship was Jamal Lowe with nine, one more than Jerry Yates who has since joined Derby County on loan.

Of course, it is not just in attack that Williams wants to strengthen his squad. Reinforcements are wanted right across the pitch.

That search for new faces continues - with less than five weeks until the 2024-25 Championship campaign begins.

Gareth Vincent
BBC Sport Wales

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It has looked inevitable for a while that Nathan Wood would be leaving Swansea City this summer.

With the centre-back’s move to Southampton now confirmed, there may be some at Swansea wondering whether, with hindsight, they should have sold him 11 months ago.

Russell Martin’s Saints had two offers for Wood rejected last August.

At that stage, Southampton were prepared to pay about £7m rising to £10m for the England Under-21 international.

While the transfer fee is officially undisclosed, BBC Sport Wales understands Southampton have eventually got their man for just £3m, with add-ons taking the deal to a potential £4.5m.

The Swans will have to give a slice of the profit made on Wood to Middlesbrough, as a result of a sell-on clause in the deal which brought him to Wales for about £400,000 in 2022.

His signing was a success for Swansea. Despite some injury issues, Wood managed 72 appearances in his two seasons at Swansea, establishing himself as one of the brightest young defenders in the Championship.

But with Wood’s contract up next summer – and the player apparently making clear he wanted to move on – Swansea were left with little option but to sell for what looks a low price, given the player's potential.

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Swansea City will face FC Koln in friendly on Wednesday, 24 July as part of a week-long pre-season training camp in Austria.

Luke Williams’ team will meet Koln, who were relegated from the Bundesliga last season, at Thermenstadion Bad Waltersdorf (15:00 BST), with the game open to supporters.

Swansea say they are hoping to arrange a second game during their stay in Austria, when they will be based near the town of Stegersbach.

The Welsh club have not announced any other pre-season fixtures.

Swansea begin new the Championship campaign with a trip to Middlesbrough on Saturday, 10 August.

Gareth Vincent
BBC Sport Wales

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

With no new signings on board and many of last season’s squad gone, numbers have been a little light during the first week of pre-season training at Swansea City.

Luke Williams will have fingers crossed that reinforcements will arrive soon.

The good news for Swansea’s head coach is that a move for South Korean winger or attacking midfielder Eom Ji-Sung looks close to being secured, while the Championship club are understood to be a fair way down the line on a couple of other potential deals.

The question of what comes next for Jamie Paterson, meanwhile, is still to be answered.

With his contract is up this summer, Paterson is now a free agent.

For the moment, the offer of a new Swansea deal remains on the table – but there is still no clear indication on whether the 32-year-old intends to extend his stay in Wales.

Paterson has scored 17 goals in 109 appearances since joining Swansea after his release by Bristol City in 2021.

Williams has made it clear he wants the attacking midfielder to be part of his squad in 2024-25, but whether he gets his wish remains to be seen.

The risk for Paterson in delaying his decision is that Swansea will look elsewhere, though the player is bound to have other options.

Intriguingly, Paterson posted pictures of what appeared to be a Charlotte FC game on social media on Thursday.

The MLS team are managed by ex-Aston Villa boss Dean Smith, who was Walsall manager when a young Paterson was given a first-team chance by the Saddlers more than a decade ago.

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Swansea City first-team coach Kristian O’Leary is celebrating 30 years since he joined the club as a player.

Local lad O’Leary, 46, signed for the Swans as a teenager in 1994.

He would go on to make more than 300 senior appearances before leaving the club in 2010.

O’Leary returned as a coach in 2012, losing his job when manager Garry Monk was sacked in 2015 before rejoining the Swans’ staff in 2021.

“Thirty years ago today I walked through the Vetch Field gates as a YTS (youth training scheme player),” O’Leary wrote on social media., external

“Always an honour and privilege to represent this amazing club.”

Image source, Swansea City AFC

Swansea City Women have signed goalkeeper Charlie Haynes, subject to international clearance and Football Association of Wales (FAW) approval.

Haynes, 26, joins the Swans on a semi-professional contract following her time with Keynsham Town Ladies, and will formally join the club when the FAW’s player registration window opens on July 15.

Haynes is the first signing made by new manager Jamie Sherwood, who she previously worked with at Yeovil.

Haynes represented Great Britain in beach football at the 2019 World Beach Games in Doha.

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Swansea City’s early-season south Wales derby meeting with Cardiff City has been put back 24 hours after being selected for live TV coverage.

Luke Williams' side had been due to host the Bluebirds on Saturday, 24 August, but the fixture will now be played on Sunday, 25 August, with a 15:00 BST kick-off.

The Swans’ home game against Bristol City has also been put back a day because it will be shown live on Sky Sports.

That match will now take place on Sunday, 29 September (15:00 BST).

As a result, Swansea’s trip to Sheffield United has also been put back 24 hours, meaning that will now take place on Wednesday, 2 October (19:45 BST).

Swansea start the new Championship campaign with a trip to Middlesbrough on Saturday, 10 August.

Gareth Vincent
BBC Sport Wales

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It is now almost two months since the 2023-24 Championship season ended and Swansea City are yet to add a new signing to their squad.

There have been plenty of departures, with Nathan Wood and Jerry Yates set to add to the list of players heading through the exit door.

They follow the six loan players who said farewell at the end of last season, plus the likes of Liam Walsh and Nathanael Ogbeta, who were released.

Prezmyslaw Placheta has also seen his contract expire – although Luke Williams has suggested the Polish winger may yet have a future in Wales – while Jamie Paterson is now a free agent having given no definite answer on whether he will sign the new deal offered by Swansea at the end of last season.

With Yates going and Jamal Lowe gone, Swansea will be without their joint leading scorers from the last campaign – they each contributed nine goals - come the opening day of 2024-25.

Paterson, whose Swans future is in serious doubt as things stand, was next in last term’s scoring charts with eight.

A squad which was already short on firepower, therefore, looks even lighter on attacking options now.

Of course, the departures mean there are plenty of holes in Williams’ squad.

It is not just in attack that Swansea look short. They are yet to replace goalkeeper Carl Rushworth, while Wood’s imminent move to Southampton means central defensive options are thin given that Bashir Humphreys is another who has already gone.

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Williams is not overly blessed with resources at full-back, either, while a replacement for Walsh is needed in midfield.

The various vacancies mean an opportunity for another rebuild at Swansea.

After the mixed successes of the last summer transfer window, there is pressure on the club’s decision-makers to deliver this time around.

The suggestion is that new faces could start to arrive in the next few days, with a deal for forward Eom Ji-Sung, of K-League side Gwangju, in the pipeline.

The South Korean would be an intriguing addition, if something of a gamble given that he has never played in Europe before.

But Eom's arrival would only be the start.

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Swansea City's players have officially returned for the start of their pre-season preparations.

And former Wales midfielder Joe Allen was among those reporting back for duty with 40 days to go until the opening weekend of the Championship.

Allen, 34, missed the end of the last campaign with a toe injury sustained in the Easter Monday home loss against QPR.

It prompted fears the playmaker would not return to a Swansea shirt with his contract due to expire.

But Allen agreed a new one-year deal in May and says his recovery went well.

Captain Matt Grimes and long-serving defender Kyle Naughton - another who has agreed new terms - were also among those pictured , externalreturning to the club's Fairwood training base.

It is the first full pre-season of Luke Williams' reign, with the former Notts County boss having already had players report for fitness testing and assessments during their summer breaks.

Swansea open the new season away to Middlesbrough on 10 August, but are due to confirm their pre-season fixtures.