Swans' transfer 'shambles' leaves questions to answer

Andy Coleman became Swansea chairman in May 2023

Another winter transfer window, another avalanche of criticism for Swansea City.

It has become a familiar tale at this time of year, with Swansea delivering little in the transfer market despite looking in desperate need of the lift new signings can bring.

Twelve months ago, chairman Andy Coleman was left defending Swansea's January business, insisting the club had learned from the mistakes made in the summer of 2023.

Two years ago, meanwhile, Swansea's failure to sign a player throughout January led to that memorable Russell Martin press conference in which he suggested the club's approach to the transfer market needed to change.

It remains to be seen what stance Luke Williams will take when he speaks to the media before Sunday's trip to Bristol City.

But what we know already is that Swansea's head coach, like so many of his recent predecessors, will be feeling frustrated after another dispiriting transfer window.

"I think we were all hoping for more signings because you can see the squad needs more bodies," club legend Leon Britton says.

A lightweight squad gets even smaller

Having made one signing in the first 33 days of the latest transfer window, Swansea went into the final day hoping for as many as four more.

They got one. Lewis O'Brien joined on loan from Nottingham Forest, with Swansea able to get the deal over the line despite interest from a number of other Championship sides.

The suggestion is that the key to Swansea beating off the competition was finance, with the Welsh club using money saved following Matt Grimes' move to Coventry City to bring O'Brien in.

O'Brien's CV suggests he should be a positive addition – but the consensus is that Swansea needed more.

They thought they were getting another defensive midfielder in Jacob Wright, the Manchester City youngster who was in south Wales on Sunday but left without signing a contract.

Lewis O'Brien has played in the Premier League for Nottingham Forest

That deal suddenly went cold on Monday morning, with Wright eventually pictured in Norwich City colours later in the day. These things happen when transfers are not finalised, as Swansea's hierarchy have been reminded in the last 24 hours.

While O'Brien and Wright were deals Swansea looked at after Grimes' departure, they had been chasing an attacking midfielder and wide player throughout the window – yet did not get close to getting deals done.

At one stage on deadline day a loan deal for Bobby Clark looked possible, only for Red Bull Salzburg to say a permanent transfer was the sole option on the table. That was the end of that, given the numbers involved.

Ethan Galbraith, of Leyton Orient, is another player Swansea had an interest in, but a deadline-day offer for the Northern Ireland international was batted away by the League One club. There were others the club made late bids for, too.

Potential wide players were being mentioned at Swansea's Fairwood training base late in the day - such as Tottenham youngster Damola Ajayi - but again, no transfer looked like being finalised.

And so O'Brien was the second and final addition after Hannes Delcroix, who arrived on loan from Burnley 11 days ago after Swansea's failed attempts to sign fellow centre-back Josh Low from Wycombe.

Delcroix was a replacement for Nelson Abbey, who signed on a season-long loan from Olympiakos last summer but made no impression in the first half of the campaign.

Abbey was recalled at the end of December, while Swansea sanctioned January departures for Azeem Abdulai and goalkeeper Andy Fisher.

There was one more incoming in the shape of Melker Widell, though he will not join up with Swansea until June because current club AaB Aalborg would only agree to the transfer if he rejoined them on loan for the remainder of this campaign.

As a result, a squad which was already thin on options is actually two players lighter in terms of numbers.

It is hard to imagine that this was the plan as the window was opening.

Luke Williams has lost arguably his most important player after Matt Grimes was sold to Coventry City

'A shambles – it feels like the same old story'

Swansea's latest underwhelming window came on the back of some questionable work in the summer of 2024, when the emphasis was on signing overseas players with potential rather than proven Championship performers.

A year before that, the club made no fewer than 13 summer signings, the majority of which did not come off.

Flawed recruitment has been a recurring theme, hence there is frustration among Swansea's fans.

"It's been a shambles - it feels like the same old story," says Steven Carroll, editor of the SOS fanzine.

"Anyone could see we were desperate for additions. We went into the season with arguably only two centre-backs, there is a chronic lack of goals, lack of creativity, and none of it has been addressed.

"The captain has gone which nobody saw coming – even the club seemed blindsided by that - but you only agree to do that deal if you know you can replace him and use money to strengthen. All we've done is get one player in on loan.

"It is not good enough and we're asking for trouble."

The latest botched transfer window is even more disappointing given that there was a change of ownership at Swansea in November, which chairman Andy Coleman hailed as the start of a "new era".

The new regime said from the outset that profit and sustainability rules meant a January spending spree was not possible, but Swansea's supporters hoped for signs of progress at least.

Yet it is hard to find any clear indication that the club are moving forward.

Hannes Delcroix joined Swansea on loan for the remainder of the season having been down the central defensive pecking order at Burnley

Watson's replacement on the way

Swansea have been without a sporting director since Paul Watson's unhappy 16-month spell in the role came to an end in October.

Last March, Coleman insisted he had "unquestionable and unshakeable faith" in Watson as the pair faced questions at a tense fans' forum.

Seven months later, Watson was gone.

Swansea have taken their time looking for a replacement, though an individual has now been identified and is set to arrive in March after serving a notice period at another club.

But did the absence of a sporting director hinder Swansea in January?

Who with football expertise, know-how and experience was involved in the decisions being made during the window?

These are the sort of questions Coleman can expect to field with another fans' forum set to be arranged soon.

Britton had a stint as sporting director after retiring as a player, working with then chairman Trevor Birch and head coach Steve Cooper during what was Swansea's most successful spell since relegation from the Premier League in 2018.

"We are not privy to what's gone on behind closed doors in this transfer window, but I think you need that sporting director or director of football, whatever the title is," Britton says.

"They bring contacts in the game which you need. We all know agents play a big part in football these days and you need someone who has their ear to the ground.

"That person can also act as the go-between who has a relationship with the coach and the owners and tries to make sure everyone is on the same page."

'We have to get somebody in who knows what they are doing'

Swansea must hope O'Brien can have a significant impact on a team who looked a little lost without Grimes during defeat by Coventry last weekend.

Swansea's struggles are not all a result of the former captain's exit, of course, for their current slump began on New Year's Day.

The Swans were ninth after successive post-Christmas home wins. At the time, they were playing some good football and looking on course for a very positive season given the issues within their squad.

Since then, however, form has collapsed.

Williams has faced criticism during a run of six league games without victory, as a head coach or manager always does when results do not come.

Yet Williams is the man charged with trying to turn Swansea's season around.

An upturn is needed soon if Swansea, who are seven points clear of the bottom three, are to avoid being dragged into a relegation battle.

Williams' hope was that a handful of new recruits would breathe life into his faltering squad, but most of Swansea's inspiration is going to need to come from within.

"When a player leaves they are not replaced by somebody as good, and when you do that inevitably you will slip down the table," Carroll adds.

"There is a general disconnect here - crowds are falling, it's a concerning time and I think relegation is coming at some point if we don't change what we are doing.

"Coleman is not the right man to run the club. We have got to get somebody in who knows what they're doing. If we do that things can improve. If not then we will carry on going backwards because the writing is on the wall."

Coleman would no doubt argue otherwise, but there is not much he can do to shift opinion with the latest transfer window now closed.

The focus now returns to football, and to whether Williams can revive the fortunes of an ailing team.