Swansea City

Ben Ashton
BBC Sport England

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Watford are getting relegated, Plymouth are staying up, Millwall are in the play-offs and Portsmouth are also battling for a top-six spot.

Does something sound a bit off? Well, that's what would have happened if the Championship season started on 1 January.

Here's a look at the 2025 calendar year table, showing who the form sides were in the second half of the season and who went into freefall.

Perhaps the most notable difference between the actual final top six and the 2025 version is that Millwall would be in the play-offs and Premier League-bound Sunderland would not.

Burnley and Leeds still comfortably occupy the automatic promotion spots, albeit the Clarets would be unbeaten at the top of the pile with the Whites in second.

Coventry improved significantly after Frank Lampard replaced Mark Robins and are third over the course of the year.

The Sky Blues would instead be pitted against Bristol City in the play-off semi-final as opposed to Sunderland. Who knows what difference that would have made to their promotion bid...

Image source, Rex Features

Portsmouth - who spent much of the season battling relegation and only secured their Championship safety with two games to spare - are seventh and just one point outside a play-off spot.

Pompey sit above Sunderland, who lost their final five games of the season and are down in eighth.

The data perhaps shows just how long Regis Le Bris' side effectively had a play-off spot sewn up before their victory at Wembley against Sheffield United to claim promotion.

Relegation battlers Oxford find themselves seven places higher than where they actually finished in the 2024-25 campaign (17th), reflecting the good work done by Gary Rowett after he took over as boss from Des Buckingham.

Image source, Rex Features

Plymouth would have survived comfortably had the season begun in January 2025, showing a significant uptick after Miron Muslic replaced Wayne Rooney at the helm.

Middlesbrough tailed off significantly in the second half of the season, underpinning why they missed out on the play-offs. It was a drop off that ultimately cost Michael Carrick his job as head coach.

Norwich City conceded more goals (32) than any other side in 2025, which counteracted the hard work they'd done at the other end, having been the fourth top scorers (31) since the turn of the year.

Image source, Rex Features

Watford had a disappointing 2025, winning just five of their 23 games and losing 13 to finish bottom of the calendar year table.

The Hornets had the joint-worst goal difference along with Cardiff (-10) and head coach Tom Cleverley was sacked following the end of the season.

Preston and Cardiff won the fewest games of any side in 2025 (4), which cost the Bluebirds their Championship status and almost led to the Lilywhites dropping into League One as they avoided relegation by one point.

Paul Heckingbottom's side would be down if only games this year were counted.

Luton and Derby scored the fewest goals in 2025 (19) and attacking output was an issue that plagued both sides throughout the entire campaign.

It had major consequences for the Hatters with back-to-back relegations, while the Rams survived by a point - and only on goal difference in the yearly table.

Data collated from Transfermarkt

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Ryan Davies is returning to Swansea City this summer after being appointed academy manager.

Davies held several roles within the academy set-up between 2012 and 2024, including head of coaching and interim academy manager.

During that time he also played a part in the development of players such as current men's first-team captain Ben Cabango, Ollie Cooper, Liam Cullen, Connor Roberts and Josh Sheehan.

He will formally take up the role on 1 August.

"I am delighted and extremely proud to be given the opportunity to return to the club and lead Swansea City's academy," said Davies.

"Being able to represent my hometown club and local community is a huge privilege, and witnessing the growth of the academy over the last decade and more has been incredible.

"As a club we have a proud track record of producing talented young players capable of featuring at senior club and international levels, and that is one we are very keen to continue.

"I cannot wait to get started and try and continue to drive our academy, and ensure our supporters continue to be able to chant 'he's one of our own' by producing talent that can thrive at first-team level."

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Director of football Richard Montague says Swansea City will attempt to avoid another Harry Darling situation in the future by ensuring the club's key players do not run down their contracts.

Centre-back Darling is attracting interest from a host of Championship clubs this summer, partly because he is available on a free transfer.

Swansea tried to persuade Darling to sign a new deal – and their offer remains on the table – but former boss Luke Williams suggested the club should have made an earlier attempt to tie the former MK Dons player down.

Darling is not the first Swansea player in recent seasons to see his contract come to an end – and Montague accepts the club must look to avoid similar scenarios in the future.

"We want to keep our best players and we don't want to get in the situation where those players can do what Harry has been able to do, which is brilliant for Harry but less good for us as a club," he said.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

"We want to avoid that as much as possible. That is going to be a key focus going forward, either deciding on when is the right time to cash in on an asset and when is the right time to extend someone's contract, either to grow with us or become an even stronger asset for us.

"I can understand why situations develop but we have to do our best to try to avoid them."

Josh Tymon and Josh Key were two of Swansea's star performers in 2024-25 and are among the club's most saleable assets.

The two full-backs see their current deals expire next summer, although there club have the option of extending both those contracts by a further 12 months.

When asked whether Tymon and Key's contract situations should be addressed sooner rather than later, Montague added: "We will absolutely be talking to those guys as the season begins, in pre-season as well, but we haven't had any conversations yet."

Ben Ashton
BBC Sport England

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The 2024-25 Championship season might be over but there are many ways to analyse and reflect on the campaign that has gone before us.

Not every club can go up but if there are signs a team is moving in the right direction, it can still be considered good progress - or quite the opposite if things are on the slide.

Here is a look at how each of the 18 sides who were in the Championship for the past two seasons got on points wise compared to the 2023-24 campaign.

It perhaps comes as no surprise that Sunderland, who won promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs, recorded the most significant improvement after finishing 16th in 2023-24 and picked up 20 more points.

Despite a tumultuous season off the field, Blackburn were the second most improved side in the division, gaining 13 points on the previous campaign as they missed out on the play-offs by just two points.

Leeds racked up 90 points in 2023-24 but somehow still managed a 10-point improvement as they hit the 100 mark on their way to winning the title in their best-ever season in the second tier.

Millwall's seven-point improvement was enough to help them finish five places higher in eighth, but they fell short of the top six by two points.

Meanwhile, Bristol City were only six points better off but managed to climb five places and claim a play-off spot, recording their best Championship finishing position since 2007-08.

Coventry also only improved by five points but were able to jump from ninth to fifth, perhaps showing just how fine the margins can be in the Championship when it comes to securing a play-off berth.

At the bottom...

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You might want to look away now, Hull City fans.

The Tigers went backwards more than any other side compared to the previous season under Liam Rosenior, dropping from seventh place and three points outside the play-offs to only escaping relegation on goal difference on the final day.

Cardiff went from mid-table in 2023-24 to rock bottom and will drop down to League One for the first time in 22 years. It is pretty clear to see why as the Bluebirds picked up 18 fewer points compared to the previous season.

Norwich tumbled to 13th place after finishing in the play-offs a year before - an underperformance which ultimately cost Johannes Hoff Thorup his job as head coach.

Preston were 10 points off the play-off places in 2023-24 but picked up 13 fewer points under Paul Heckingbottom in what was their worst season since they were relegated from the Championship in 2010-11.

The Lilywhites' downturn was largely due to a major dip in form in the latter stages of the campaign, picking up only one win from their final 15 games (D7 L7) to avoid the drop by just one point.

West Bromwich Albion endured a disappointing season - for a club which always harbours ambitions of plying its trade in the top flight - with an 11-point drop off.

Albion's final points tally of 64 was their worst in the Championship since 1999-2000.

Plymouth may have only been five points worse off than they were in 2023-24 but having survived on the final day that season, there were to be no such heroics this time around and their two-year stint in the second tier is over.

And the rest...

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*All data based only on teams who were in the Championship in 2023-24 and 2024-25

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Ben Cabango says he bid an "emotional" farewell to Joe Allen after his team-mate with club and country announced his retirement from football.

Wales and Swansea City great Allen called time on his career at the age of 35 last month.

Cabango says that while he was aware Allen was considering hanging up his boots, there were question marks over the midfielder's future until the final stages of the 2024-25 campaign.

"He did tell me earlier in the season, about halfway, that he was thinking about it," the Swansea captain said.

"I thought because he started playing more consistently towards the end he might change his mind, but he said it was time to go.

"What a player, what a guy, and he will be missed at club and country."

Allen made his final Swansea appearance alongside another departing veteran, Kyle Naughton, in the 3-3 draw with Oxford United on the final day of the Championship season.

"The last game was emotional but it was a good send-off for Joe and Kyle," Cabango added.

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Swansea City will go to League Two side Cheltenham Town for a pre-season friendly on Wednesday, 23 July (19:00 BST).

The Robins, who are managed by Welshman and former Newport County boss Michael Flynn, finished 15th in the fourth tier last season.

The Cheltenham trip is the third pre-season fixture announced by Swansea.

Alan Sheehan's side will meet League One Stevenage in Spain on 19 July before a visit to another third-tier club, Exeter City, on July 26.

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Lawrence Vigouroux is facing a mighty challenge with Chile next week, but Swansea City team-mate Eom Ji-Sung has been given a summer break by South Korea.

Goalkeeper Vigouroux is with the Chile squad preparing for World Cup qualifiers against Argentina and Bolivia.

Chile take on Argentina in a World Cup qualifying game in Santiago on 6 June before going to Bolivia four days later.

It may be that Vigouroux comes up against Lionel Messi, who was named in Argentina's preliminary squad, as Chile look to cause a major upset by beating the world champions.

But there will be no work for Eom this summer after he was omitted from the South Korea squad for their qualifying matches against Iraq and Kuwait.

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Eom finished the Championship season in style, looking like a player who was coming to terms with the English second tier, having struggled at times following his move from Gwangju last summer.

But he has been left out alongside the likes of Yang Min-hyeok, who was on loan at Queens Park Rangers last season, and Bae Jun-ho of Stoke City.

South Korea boss Hong Myung-bo has indicated the Championship players have been left out because they have been inactive for a number of weeks, rather than due to any loss of form.

Swansea fringe player Nathan Tjoe-A-On is with the Indonesia squad for games against China and Japan, while striker Zan Vipotnik may go to the Uefa Under-21 European Championship with Slovenia.

Ben Cabango, Ollie Cooper and Liam Cullen are part of Craig Bellamy's Wales squad for qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Belgium, while Evan Watts, Sam Parker, Cameron Congreve and Joel Cotterill are in the Wales Under-21 squad.

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Swansea City striker Zan Vipotnik may be in line for a second successive busy summer.

Vipotnik went to Euro 2024 with Slovenia during the close season last year, featuring as a substitute during his country's draw with Serbia at the tournament in Germany.

There is no senior major compeitition for European sides this year, of course, but Vipotnik is in contention to play at the Uefa European Under-21 Championship.

Slovenia Under-21s have qualified for the tournament for the first time – though they have featured before as hosts – having topped their qualifying group ahead of the likes of France and Austria.

And though Vipotnik turned 23 in March, he is still young enough to feature for a Slovenia side who are in a group with Germany, Czech Republic and holders England.

Slovenia's first game is against the Germans on 12 June.

Swansea head coach Alan Sheehan is likely to be watching with interest, particularly with his squad likely to return for pre-season training at roughly the same time as the Uefa tournament draws to a close.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Alan Sheehan's first pre-season as Swansea City's head coach will include a trip to Spain.

Swansea will play a friendly against League One side Stevenage at the Pinatar Arena on Saturday, 19 July (12:00 local time) at the end of a week-long training camp.

The fixture, which will be open to fans, is the second pre-season friendly Swansea have announced so far.

The Championship club will also play at Exeter City on Saturday, 26 July (13:00 BST).

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While the end of Swansea City's season prompts speculation as to which new players could arrive, there is also a batch of players who will return.

Head coach Alan Sheehan could benefit from several Swans who have spent the 2024-25 season getting their games elsewhere.

Swansea had a string of players out on loan last term, some of whom could yet figure in the senior side's plans going forward.

The most high-profile of the batch was striker Jerry Yates, who is due to rejoin the squad for pre-season after a successful spell at Derby County.

Rams boss John Eustace admitted the 28-year-old's future would be a summer conversation to be had, after 10 goals and four assists helped the Pride Park club stay in the Championship.

And it remains to be seen whether Swansea would look to keep the player, who has a year remaining on the deal he signed when arriving from Blackpool in 2023.

Likewise, Ukrainian forward Mykola Kuharevich also has a year to run on his deal in south Wales having spent last term at Hibernian.

Despite a lengthy injury lay-off over the winter, the 23-year-old has hit five goals in 24 Scottish Premier League (SPL) appearances during his time in Scotland, with Hibs close to sealing European football next year.

He has recently admitted his future is unclear but was keen to helping the club earn a third-placed SPL finish as a farewell.

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Goalkeeper Andy Fisher – who fell behind Lawrence Vigouroux in the Swansea pecking order after getting injured in pre-season – has also played regular games in Scotland, featuring 17 times for St Johnstone and catching the eye in a shock win over Celtic that threatens to take their survival battle to the final weekend.

Fisher, 27, also has a year remaining on his Swansea contract, as does 23-year-old stopper Nathan Broome who left for Port Vale in January. He did not make a league appearance, but was a regular back-up as Darren Moore's side won promotion from League Two.

Meanwhile, midfielder Joel Cotterill caught the eye in the same division for Swindon Town, winning the club's goal of the season for a 30-yard effort against Port Vale.

The 20-year-old Wales age-grade international was a key man in the Robins' turnaround in form under Ian Holloway and is being tipped to fight for first-team contention when he returns to Swansea.

Fellow academy graduate Cameron Congreve, 21 (pictured above), also impressed in League Two with 40 outings for Bromley, scoring five – including one against Newcastle United in the FA Cup.

He is said to have gained much from his first regular season, with his performances leading to a new deal with the Swans in March.

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Swansea City are expected to turn their attention to other targets after expressing an interest in Lincoln City midfielder Ethan Erhahon.

Former Scotland Under-21 international Erhahon is being linked with a move to the Championship having made 107 appearances for Lincoln since joining the League One club in January 2023.

But despite suggestions that Swansea have had an offer for Erhahon turned down, the 24-year-old seems unlikely to move to south Wales.

Erhahon came through the ranks at Scottish side St Mirren before moving to Lincoln.

Gareth Vincent
BBC Sport Wales

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As things stand, Jerry Yates will be back at Swansea City when Alan Sheehan's squad reconvene for pre-season training later this summer.

But even at this early stage in what promises to be a busy close season, rumours are circling about where Yates may go next after a successful loan at Derby County.

Could he stick with the Rams? Given that Yates managed 10 goals and four assists for a side who narrowly avoided relegation, it would be no surprise should there be interest.

When asked by BBC Sport Wales last month about Yates' long-term future, Derby boss John Eustace said it was a conversation to be had come summer.

Presumably, those talks are now taking place.

Regardless over whether Derby are keen, there is speculation that a handful of clubs are interested in Yates who, while not prolific, is a proven Championship performer having scored 42 goals across the past four campaigns at second-tier level.

The feeling is that if a suitable offer comes in, Swansea would sanction Yates' departure.

The 28-year-old has another year to run – plus the option of a further 12 months – remaining on the contract he signed in 2023, when he joined Swansea from Blackpool in deal which valued him at about £3m.

Another move this summer could mean another vacancy as Swansea, once again, head into a transfer window looking for increased firepower.

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Mykola Kuharevich is another forward who is due back in Wales after a loan spell away, in his case at Hibernian.

But as with Yates, it would be no surprise should he be allowed to depart once more before Alan Sheehan's first full season as Swansea's head coach begins.

Then there are attacking players who were part of Sheehan's squad in 2024-25, but might be considered surplus to requirements should there be interest from elsewhere.

French winger-turned-striker Florian Bianchini's impact was limited following his move from Bastia, while Josh Ginnelly found game-time hard to come by having returned to fitness after a long spell out with an Achilles problem.

Zan Vipotnik had a decent debut year in the Championship, scoring seven goals in 42 league games – 24 of which were starts – having signed following the collapse of Bordeaux.

Yet it is not inconceivable that Swansea would say yes should a serious offer come in for the Slovenia international this summer.

With so many players' futures up in the air, it will be interesting to see exactly what Sheehan's attacking options are come the opening day of 2025-26.

Image source, Rex Features

Swansea City transfer target Bobby Wales has been named Kilmarnock's Young Player of the Year for the 2024-25 season.

The 19-year-old's contract with the Scottish Premiership club expires this summer, and the Swans have identified the striker as a target for the upcoming window.

The Scotland Under-19 international has scored five goals in all competitions for the Ayrshire side so far this season.

He also netted 12 times in 26 appearances during a season-long loan spell with Alloa Athletic last season.

Swansea City fans took home their own piece of the Vetch, the club's former home, after victory over Wrexham in the FAW Premier Cup 20 years ago.

Supporters took home seats, grass and even advertising boards from the stadium which served as the club's base for 93 years.