Swansea City have money to invest in playing squad, says sporting director Paul Watson
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Mat Grimes (left) and Joel Piroe (right) have both been linked with moves away from Swansea City
New sporting director Paul Watson says Swansea City have "money to invest" this summer and are working to strengthen Michael Duff's squad.
Swansea are set to make Josh Ginnelly the first signing of the Duff era.
Watson says Swansea are under no pressure to sell amid speculation over the futures of players like Matt Grimes and Joel Piroe.
But he conceded the Championship club would consider any offer which is "right for us".
"Certainly in this window we will be bringing players in," Watson said.
"There are key positions we want to recruit and we're working hard on that right now.
"There is money to invest. How much is depending on where we see the squad transitioning to."
There were vacancies in Swansea's squad during the second half of last season, following a miserable January transfer window during which six players departed without a single arrival.
Player-of-the-year Ryan Manning and another regular in former boss Russell Martin's defence, Joel Latibeaudiere, have departed as free agents this summer having failed to agree new contracts.
Ryan Manning was a star performer for Swansea last season, but is a free agent having failed to agree a new contract
Luke Cundle has returned to Wolves after a successful loan spell at Swansea, while Matty Sorinola has also gone back to his parent club having made 31 appearances in 2022-23.
That means there are just 20 senior players in the squad inherited by new head coach Duff, including Brandon Cooper, Nathanael Ogbeta and Kyle Joseph - who have returned to Wales after loan spells in the lower leagues - and 19-year-old academy product Cameron Congreve.
Watson says the number of signings Swansea make in the current window will depend on Duff.
Having officially arrived from Luton this week, Watson says he has been given "a lot of authority and autonomy" by Swansea's American owners to run the football side of the club as he wishes.
"Every sporting director, every manager at every club, wants to spend more money, but we've got to do it in the correct way which is in line with how the club wants to move forward," he told BBC Radio Wales' Friday Night Sport programme.
"There's not a bottomless pit, we've got to be shrewd in the market and use our academy.
"But also, when we've got the opportunity to spend money and invest in a player who wants to progress, we've got to be able to do that as well."
There have been suggestions Martin could look to take the likes of Piroe, club captain Grimes, midfielder Jay Fulton and defender Nathan Wood with him to Southampton having signed a three-year deal at St Mary's.
Piroe, who has scored 44 goals in two seasons at Swansea, has only a year left on his contract and has been linked with a number of other clubs including Everton, Nottingham Forest and Leicester City, while he is also thought to have admirers in Italy.
"We want to keep the players in the building but, ultimately, if an offer comes that we feel is right and means we can re-invest and ultimately get better - then we'll look at it," Watson said.
"But we're not under any pressure to sell or go out hunting for offers. We're happy with the squad and we want to add to it."
Watson declined to comment on Swansea's ongoing disagreement with Southampton over compensation due following Martin's move to the south coast.
Saints are understood to have paid some compensation, but Swansea say they are entitled to more due to a clause in Martin's contract.
When asked whether Swansea's style of play will change following Duff's arrival from Barnsley, Watson said: "It was always going to evolve, whoever the manager was.
"The club doesn't want to finish 10th again. We still want to be possession based and pass the ball.
"We've got wonderful footballers who can do that, but we need to add different components because over a 46-game period, you come up against a lot of different challenges and you need different tools in the box."
Listen to the full Paul Watson interview on BBC Sounds.