Swansea braced for another interesting summer

For the third year in a row, Swansea City's players will head off on holiday with spirits lifted by a springtime upturn in form.

The challenge facing the club's new-look group of decision-makers is to find a way of ensuring that in the next campaign, there is no need for a late-season improvement to lighten the mood.

Swansea wobbled for a long time in 2022-23 before a sparkling run in what proved to be the final weeks of Russell Martin's reign.

Last season, there were struggles under Michael Duff and a difficult period for Luke Williams prior to an improvement from late February which ensured relegation was avoided with something to spare.

The pattern proved similar in 2024-25, with Swansea losing their way – albeit having shown promising signs for a while – under Williams and then finding momentum in the last three months under Alan Sheehan.

Can Swansea hope for better in 2025-26? Could Sheehan find a way of building a team who are at least in contention for a play-off place in 12 months' time?

In the fearsome scrap that is the Championship, nothing will come easy, particularly for a club whose budget is inferior to those of numerous others at their level.

Sheehan said this week that Swansea will have to get many big decisions right if they are to become Premier League contenders again any time soon.

The calls are being made already. Harry Darling has been offered an improved contract, but it remains to be seen whether he will be tempted by potentially more lucrative deals available elsewhere.

Swansea have indicated that they will try to get Lewis O'Brien back next season but, given his sizeable contract and the fact there will surely be a few suitors for the Nottingham Forest player, can the Welsh club really compete for his signature?

Then comes recruitment. There are vacancies to fill with Joe Allen, Kyle Naughton, Jon Mclaughlin, Cyrus Christie and Kristian Pedersen gone along with loan signings Myles Peart-Harris and Hannes Delcroix.

There are players out on loan who, as things stand, will be back at Swansea for pre-season, among them strikers Jerry Yates and Mykola Kuharevich and goalkeeper Andy Fisher.

Will any of those be given another chance to impress?

Even if some coming back are welcomed into the fold, a Swansea squad which has looked light in certain areas throughout this season must be strengthened.

Melker Widell is on the way, while Zeidane Inoussa looks likely to follow and Bobby Wales may also arrive.

But many more new faces are required.

So while Ben Cabango and Co head for the beach, there is plenty of work for Sheehan, director of football Richard Montague, chief executive Tom Gorringe and Swansea's owners to do to give the club a realistic chance of achieving anything significant next season.

Not for the first time in recent memory, it promises to be an interesting summer.