Graham Potter wants 'responsible' Swansea City recruitment

Swansea City manager Graham Potter hopes to blend the new with the old in his squad

Swansea City must be "responsible" in the transfer market after failing with expensive "gambles" in the Premier League, says new manager Graham Potter.

The club's poor recruitment was seen as one of the reasons for their relegation to the Championship last season.

Potter has money to spend this summer, but accepts the need to offload higher-earning players.

He says he and Swansea chiefs "know the bigger picture" and must do "what's right for the club".

Potter told BBC Sport Wales: "We've had two or three years of short-term decisions, gambles, whatever word you want to use, to try and stay in the Premier League - and there are certain implications to that.

"We need to be responsible with the decisions we make now.

"Of course we could say for Graham Potter's sake we're going to do this or going to do that, but ultimately it's about what's right for the club.

"We've made one signing, Joel Asoro, and we're on course with others, but clearly there's a restructure that will have to happen alongside that."

Potter was appointed in June and has been tasked with reinvigorating a Swansea side widely regarded to have lost their way on and off the field in recent seasons.

One of his first acts was to overhaul the club's recruitment structure, dismissing the existing scouting team and bringing in his assistant at former club Ostersunds, Kyle Macaulay, as the new head of recruitment.

Swedish 19-year-old winger Asoro, signed from Sunderland, is the only first-team player to have arrived at the Liberty Stadium so far this summer.

While Potter is keen to strengthen his squad, Swansea also need to reduce their wage bill.

Andre Ayew, an £18m signing in January, and Wilfried Bony, who joined for around £12m last summer, are among the highest paid players who the Swans are looking to sell.

Centre-backs Alfie Mawson and Federico Fernandez, meanwhile, have attracted interest from several clubs - but Swansea have yet to receive suitable offers for any of those prized assets.

"Not yet, and certainly none we're willing to accept," Potter added.

"We understand the value of the guys we have and we want them to be a part of what we're doing here. The guys have been really professional."

Transfer window complications

Player comings and goings at Swansea could be further complicated by a change in date for the closure of the transfer window in the top two divisions of English football.

Although Premier League and Championship clubs will only be able to make signings until 9 August, the transfer window in other top divisions in Europe will not shut until the end of next month.

"The window means you could lose players without signing any, so of course that's a bit of a disadvantage," said Potter.

"But I think you have to have a contingency plan for those types of situations.

"You have to juggle, see into the future and not guess, but have some kind of objective information and make a call. It's a fun part of the job!"