Huw Jenkins: Swansea City Supporters' Trust calls for chairman's departure

American owners Stephen Kaplan, (back left) and Jason Levien (back right) with chairman Huw Jenkins (front right) have seen Swansea struggle this season

Swansea City Supporters' Trust has called for the removal of chairman Huw Jenkins as part of the ongoing dispute over the sale of the club in 2016.

The Trust, which has a 21.1% stake in the club, maintains it was excluded from preliminary negotiations.

Jenkins said on Friday "for people to... say they didn't know about the sale annoys me because it's wrong".

The Trust was alerted in March 2016 to a possible deal, but co-owner Jason Levien has said talks started in 2015.

A consortium headed by Levien and fellow American Steve Kaplan bought a controlling stake of 68% in Swansea City in July 2016.

Levien has previously said the stakeholders who sold their shares, such as Jenkins, initially indicated there was no shareholders' agreement in place.

The Trust issued its statement on Sunday, saying it had "no choice but to correct a number of incorrect statements made by Mr Jenkins".

The statement concluded: "The Supporters' Trust today joins those calling for Huw Jenkins' removal as chairman of Swansea City Football Club."

BBC Sport Wales has asked Swansea City if Jenkins has any response to the Trust's calls to step down.

While the two parties remain at odds over the timeline of the sale of the club, Jenkins did concede in his previous interview that: "If they [the Trust] say they didn't have [enough] time, or that the four months wasn't enough, or we didn't have clarity about how we wanted to go forward, I agree, but there's a difference."

The club has struggled in the Premier League since the takeover, narrowly avoiding relegation last season and this season again finding itself in the drop zone at Christmas.

The summer sale of their two best players from the previous campaign - Gylfi Sigurdsson and Fernando Llorente - and the failure to replace them adequately has weakened Swansea's squad, although money from those sales will be made available in January.

Saturday's 2-1 win at Watford - the first game under new boss Carlos Carvalhal, who last week became Swansea's fifth permanent manager in two years - was just their fourth of the season and lifted them off the bottom of the table.

The struggles on the pitch have mirrored the unrest off it at the Welsh club, with the interested parties remaining deeply divided.

In October 2016 the Trust said it was considering taking legal action over the deal.

That did not materialise - although there is an ongoing court case brought by former directors Steve Penny and Don Keefe for unfair dismissal following the takeover, a charge Jenkins has denied.

The Trust has also seen two chairman - Will Morris and Phil Sumbler - resign in quick succession in November, with Sumbler joining a new group, the Swansea City Supporters' Alliance.

The Alliance has also previously called for Jenkins to step down.