Williams faces fight to improve - Swansea season preview

Luke Williams signed a three-and-a-half-year deal when he took charge at Swansea in January

Swansea City’s followers are hoping for better in the Championship this season after the trauma of the last campaign.

It is now six years since Swansea’s seven-year spell as a Premier League club came to an end.

Ever since dropping out of the top flight, Swansea’s owners have suggested that a return to the highest level is their target.

Yet last season, the Welsh club looked more likely to drop from the Championship into League One than rejoin the elite.

In the end, Swansea survived with something to spare, Luke Williams guiding them to a 14th-place finish having arrived from Notts County in January.

But there was not a great deal for the club’s fans to savour during what was an arduous season.

Swansea’s final league placing was not their worst since Premier League relegation - they ended up 15th in 2021-22.

But the final tally of 57 points was the Swans' lowest return in an EFL campaign since 2002-03, when they needed a final-day victory over Hull City to avoid the drop into non-league football.

Swansea have long since moved on since those dark days, of course, but they are a club in need of a lift in the upcoming second-tier campaign.

How did last season go?

Victory over rivals Cardiff City in March was a high point during what was a turbulent 2023-24 campaign for Swansea

Last summer, Russell Martin joined Graham Potter and Steve Cooper on the list of talented coaches who have left Swansea in recent years amid either doubts or frustration – or both - over the club’s transfer work.

That prompted Swansea to give their top job to Michael Duff, who always looked a questionable fit for a club wedded to possession football since Roberto Martinez was in charge 17 years ago.

It was not a massive shock, therefore, when things did not work out, with Duff sacked in December.

Alan Sheehan held the fort for seven games before Swansea, who had failed in a bid to appoint Chris Davies, turned to Williams.

A popular figure with Swansea’s players – some of whom were around when he previously worked at the club as an assistant to Martin – Williams’ tactical approach and man-management skills ensured a turbulent campaign ended with some promising performances and the calm of a mid-table finish.

That was despite a difficult start to the Williams era, with just one victory coming in his first seven league games, which included demoralising defeats against the likes of Southampton and Leeds United.

But Williams’ team won seven and drew three of their last 16 Championship matches to pull clear of the relegation scrap.

What are their prospects this season?

Williams is a coach with a track record of producing teams who carve out plenty of chances while playing attractive football.

His hope will be that Swansea make more of the opportunities they create in 2024-25, for they were too often held back by poor finishing last season.

Williams must also keep fingers crossed for some good fortune with injuries because, as things stand, his squad is thin.

While 13 senior players have said farewell since last season, Swansea have brought in only four.

You do not need a calculator to see that the numbers do not add up.

Swansea are believed to be operating on one of the second tier’s smaller budgets, which helps explain why a string of potential transfer targets have come and gone this summer.

So far, they have brought in goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux, midfielder Goncalo Franco and forward Eom Ji-Sung for undisclosed fees, while striker Zan Vipotnik arrived on a free following the collapse of French club Bordeaux.

Between them, the new signings have played a grand total of zero Championship matches.

How they cope with the demands of the English second tier will be crucial to Swansea’s prospects this season, as will what other transfer business is done before the window closes later this month.

As things stand, after all, Swansea have limited cover in almost every position on the pitch.

In that situation, expectations surrounding Williams’ side on the eve of a new campaign cannot be too high.

Striker Zan Vipotnik has arrived at Swansea after the collapse of French club Bordeaux, who he joined for a reported £2.5m in 2023

Head coach Luke Williams’ view:

“I hope we improve from where we were last season and that people can see that.

“That’s what I would like to hear, that people can see and they recognise that the group is moving forward in a different direction and feel optimistic and excited about the team.

“If I can see that and hear that, then we know we are on the right track."

Transfers in

Goncalo Franco (Moreirense, undisclosed fee); Eom Ji-Sung (Gwangju FC, undisclosed fee); Kristian Pedersen (return from loan); Zan Vipotnik (Bordeaux, free); Lawrence Vigouroux (Burnley, undisclosed fee); Nathan Tjoe-A-On (return from loan)

Transfers out

Harrison Ashby (end of loan); Cameron Congreve (Bromley, loan); Joel Cotterill (Swindon, loan); Bashir Humphreys (end of loan); Mykola Kuharevich (Hibernian, loan); Jamal Lowe (end of loan); Nathanael Ogbeta (Plymouth, free); Jamie Paterson (failed to agree new contract); Charlie Patino (end of loan); Przemyslaw Placheta (Oxford, free); Carl Rushworth (end of loan); Charles Sagoe Jr (end of loan); Liam Walsh (released); Nathan Wood (Southampton, undisclosed fee); Jerry Yates (Derby, loan)