Williams eyes four signings - and a happier season

Luke Williams led Swansea to 14th place in the Championship last season after taking charge in January

Luke Williams says Swansea City need four more signings after setting an improvement on the struggles of last season as the target for the new Championship campaign.

Williams wants Swansea to prove they are “moving forward in a different direction” as he prepares for his first full campaign as the club’s head coach.

Swansea finished 14th in 2023-24, an arduous season in which they had three different bosses and spent much of their time looking nervously towards the relegation zone.

A summer rebuild has seen 13 senior players depart and only four new signings arrive so far, but Williams is confident there will be more business done before the transfer window closes on 30 August.

“I think probably realistically we are four really good players away from the ideal numbers,” he said.

“[That is] players who will make us better rather than just filling the squad - that’s no good to us.”

Williams is understood to be keen on adding two wingers to his squad, with 22-year-old Swede Noel Milleskog one of the names on Swansea’s list of targets alongside two others who play abroad.

The club are also considering a move for trialist Ruben Providence. Swansea would have to pay Austrian side TSV Hartberg a fee for the 23-year-old Frenchman.

Williams remains interested in free agent former Stoke City striker Tyrese Campbell, who can also play out wide, though the signing of Zan Vipotnik means there is less pressure to add another centre-forward to the squad.

But Swansea continue to look light on options across the pitch, with centre-back a particular area of concern.

Nevertheless, Williams says he is not worried about the size of his squad going into Saturday’s Championship opener at Middlesbrough because he has been assured that there are further signings to come.

“I’d be concerned if it’s the same squad in two months’ time because I think with the accumulation of games, it’s going to be difficult for the squad as it stands to withstand that,” he said.

“But that’s not going to happen, so I am not concerned. I am more concerned that we bring the right people in. If that takes a little bit longer, so be it.

“We would like people to come here and be here for a long time. We’d like them to play well from the beginning and improve, rather than sign a player who doesn’t work out, we don’t use them much and they have a bad experience and we have a bad experience.”

Swansea are believed to be working with one of the smaller budgets in the second tier, hence a number of potential targets have gone elsewhere already this summer.

They have brought in Slovenia international Vipotnik on a free transfer - after the collapse of his previous club Bordeaux - while goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux, midfielder Goncalo Franco and Eom Ji-Sung, who can play out wide or as an attacking midfielder, have arrived for undisclosed fees.

All four new recruits are expected to be involved at the Riverside, though Vipotnik is unlikely to start having only begun training with Swansea this week.

Goncalo Franco (left) and Eom Ji-Sung (right), like fellow new signings Lawrence Vigouroux and Zan Vipotnik, have never played in the Championship

'I expect us to not be terrified of anyone'

Swansea finished just seven points above the relegation places last season on 57 points, the club’s lowest tally since relegation from the Premier League in 2018.

When asked about his ambitions going into 2024-25, Williams said: “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.”

Williams said it would be “impossible for anyone to question” the commitment and ambition of his squad, and says Swansea can compete with the Championship's top sides despite their lack of financial power.

“The players expect me to prepare them to go toe to toe with anyone, and I expect them to not to be terrified of anyone,” he added. “We think that’s how we should address the season.”