Swansea City

Gareth Vincent
BBC Sport Wales

Image source, Getty Images

Luke Williams will not need to spend hours agonising over which team to pick when the new Championship campaign begins at Middlesbrough in 11 days’ time.

After all, Swansea City’s head coach has barely any options to choose from.

The threadbare nature of Swansea’s current squad was highlighted as the club held an open training session on Tuesday.

Seven players played no part in the main session, with goalkeeper Andy Fisher not involved having picked up an injury during last week’s pre-season trip to Austria.

The six others – Joe Allen, Kyle Naughton, Aimar Govea, Mykola Kuharevich, Josh Ginnelly and Ronald - were limited to doing bike work on the side of the Swansea.com Stadium pitch due to various fitness issues.

Those who were on the grass took part in a 10-a-side training game.

Assistant coach Ryan Harley had to make up the numbers as a player, while the 20 playing the game also included youngsters Liam Smith, Dan Watts ad Josh Thomas, plus two players who were sent out on loan last season in Kristian Pedersen and Nathan Tjoe-A-On.

Having signed three players so far this summer and allowed a dozen to leave, Swansea are a club in desperate need of reinforcements with the trip to Teesside just around the corner.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Cameron Congreve and Joel Cotterill are set to leave Swansea City on loan.

Both players will spend the duration of the 2024-25 season in League Two.

Congreve is poised to join newly-promoted Bromley while Cotterill is expected to move to Swindon Town.

Academy product Congreve, 20, made his senior debut in Swansea's 1-0 loss at Blackpool in March 2022.

His first start came at Nottingham Forest in the penultimate game of the 2021-22 season.

The Wales under-21 international has featured 18 times in all competitions for Swansea's first team.

His Swans contract runs until the summer of 2025, although the deal includes a 12-month extension option.

Central midfielder Cotterill, 19, made his first team debut for Swansea in the Carabao Cup at Oxford United in August 2022.

He featured 12 times in all competitions during his loan spell with Stockport County in League Two last season.

Cotterill's Swans contract expires in the summer of 2026.

Image source, Swansea City

Swansea City came from behind to draw 1-1 with FK Vardar of North Macedonia in their penultimate pre-season fixture.

An experimental starting 11 featuring predominantly academy players including Evan Watts, Filip Lissah and Cameron Congreve fell behind to Djibril Dianessy's goal in the 22nd minute in Friedberg.

But summer signing Goncalo Franco levelled proceedings 16 minutes into the second-half.

Shortly after the Portuguese midfielder's effort, Williams changed his entire 11, bringing on a raft of first team players including club captain Matt Grimes, Jay Fulton, Harry Darling and Ben Cabango.

The Swans conclude their pre-season schedule with a home friendly against Portuguese side Rio Ave on Saturday, 3 August.

Williams' side take on Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium in their 2024-25 Championship opener a week later.

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Former Swansea City striker Oli McBurnie has joined La Liga side Las Palmas.

The Scotland international has signed a three-year deal after his contract at Sheffield United expired last month.

McBurnie scored 26 goals in 144 league appearances for United having joined the Blades for a then club-record £20m fee in August 2019.

Las Palmas finished 16th in La Liga last season, after earning promotion in the 2022-23 season.

Gareth Vincent
BBC Sport Wales

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

The chances of Jamie Paterson returning to Swansea City are looking increasingly slim as uncertainty over the attacking midfielder’s future continues.

Paterson is officially a free agent after his contract expired last month.

The 32-year-old was offered a new deal by Swansea at the end of last season, but has not signed and has played no part in the club’s preparations for the new Championship campaign.

Paterson has scored 17 goals in 109 appearances since joining Swansea in August 2021, following his release by Bristol City.

He proved last season that he remains capable of having an impact in the second tier, and Swansea head coach Luke Williams had been keen for Paterson to remain at the club alongside fellow experienced pros Kyle Naughton and Joe Allen.

The Swans have given no indication that the contract offer made to Paterson has been withdrawn.

However, the belief within the Welsh club is that Paterson, who has already missed much of pre-season, is unlikely to return.

Paterson scored eight goals last season.

Should the former Nottingham Forest player's exit be confirmed, a Swansea side who struggled to take their chances in 2023-24 will have said farewell to their three leading scorers in what was an arduous campaign, having already lost Jamal Lowe and sent Jerry Yates on loan to Derby County.

They have signed two players capable of playing in a similar role to Paterson - Eom Ji-Sung and Goncalo Franco - while their bid to recruit a proven Championship forward continues.

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Striker Mykola Kuharevich and winger Josh Ginnelly are missing from Swansea City’s squad in Austria because of injury issues.

Kuharevich has featured during pre-season but was left out of the Austria trip after picking up what Swansea say is a minor fitness issue.

Ginnelly, meanwhile, is not yet ready for action as he continues to recover from the ruptured Achilles he suffered in September 2023.

Swansea are short of attacking options having lost the likes of Jerry Yates and Jamal Lowe since the end of last season.

Liam Cullen started as Luke Williams’ team suffered their first pre-season defeat on Tuesday afternoon, going down 2-1 to FC Koln at the Thermenstadion in Bad Waltersdorf.

The German side, who were relegated from the Bundesliga last season, scored two early goals through Tim Lemperle with Ben Cabango pulling one back for the Swans before half-time.

Goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux came on as a first-half substitute having sealed his move to Swansea on Monday night.

Gareth Vincent
BBC Sport Wales

Image source, Getty Images

Swansea City have another recruitment box ticked after the signing of goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux, but there remains much work to do before head coach Luke Williams has the squad he wants.

It is coming up to 12 weeks since defeat to Millwall brought the curtain down on Swansea’s arduous 2023-24 campaign - and only 17 days until the new Championship season begins.

Vigouroux, who has arrived from Burnley for an undisclosed fee, fills the hole left by Carl Rushworth’s return to Brighton and Hove Albion, with Swansea confident he is the type of ball-playing keeper who will suit Williams’ style of play.

But vacancies remain across Swansea’s squad, most notably in attack.

Jerry Yates has gone to Derby County and Jamal Lowe is now at Sheffield Wednesday, meaning Liam Cullen and Mykola Kuharevich – who barely got a kick last season – are the only senior strikers on Swansea’s books.

It could be that Brazilian winger Ronald is used in a more central role at times in the new season, but that does not change the fact that Swansea need a centre-forward and preferably one who has a record of scoring goals in the second tier.

Finding that player is the priority for Williams and the club’s recruitment team and, with an opening-day trip to Middlesbrough on 10 August looming ever larger on the horizon, time is of the essence.

But it is not only up front that Swansea need to strengthen.

Image source, Swansea City AFC

They are also in the market for at least one wide player. Ideally, in fact, they would like two, after Przemyslaw Placheta accepted the contract on offer at Oxford United.

Swansea are in need of defensive reinforcements too, with Nathan Wood and Bashir Humphreys not yet replaced.

That leaves Ben Cabango and Harry Darling as Swansea’s only senior central defenders – alongside veteran utility player Kyle Naughton - while the Welsh club’s full-back options are not bountiful either.

Kristian Pedersen and Nathan Tjoe-A-On are back in the fold after being sent out on loan last January, but whether either player will come into the first-team reckoning remains to be seen.

Vigouroux was Swansea’s third signing of the summer, while 11 players – not including Jamie Paterson – have departed since the end of last season.

That sharp contrast illustrates how much business still needs to be done.

Image source, Swansea City AFC

Swansea City Women have signed Wales Under-19 midfielder Maddy Murray.

The 17-year-old joins after a successful trial, having played for the Football Association of Wales Girls’ Academy Under-16s last season.

"Maddy is a young and versatile player who is technically strong and is capable of playing within the Swansea City identity," said manager Jamie Sherwood.

"Maddy represents a shift in our recruitment policy where we want to sign young, hungry and coachable players to continue to shape our way moving forward."

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Swansea City are to face Portuguese top-flight side Rio Ave in their final pre-season friendly at the Swansea.com Stadium on Saturday, 3 August (15:00 BST).

The game will be Swansea’s final warm-up before they start the new Championship season with a trip to Middlesbrough the following weekend.

It will also be the only opportunity for Swans fans to watch their team in the UK during pre-season.

Rio Ave finished 11th in Portugal’s Primeira Liga last season.

Luke Williams’ Swansea squad head out to Austria for a pre-season training camp next week which will feature friendlies against FC Koln (24 July) and FK Vardar (27 July).

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Swansea City are set to benefit from Flynn Downes’ expected move from West Ham United to Southampton.

Midfielder Downes left the Swans to join the Hammers for an initial £9m, potentially rising to £14m with add-ons, in the summer of 2022.

But following a loan spell with the Saints last season, Downes is now poised to move to St Mary’s Stadium on a permanent basis in a deal worth up to £18m.

And due to terms agreed when Downes left Swansea, then managed by current Saints boss Russell Martin, the Welsh club will be due a percentage of the profit made by West Ham when Downes’ switch to the south coast of England is completed.

Downes featured 39 times in all competitions during his sole season at Swansea having joined from Ipswich Town for £1.5m in 2021.

He made 35 appearances across all competitions with boyhood club West Ham during the 2022-23 season, although the majority of those came as a substitute as David Moyes’ side won the Europa Conference League.

After being reunited with Martin, Downes was handed a prominent role last season, featuring 37 times as the Saints gained promotion into the Premier League via the play-offs.

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Swansea City have confirmed that they will face North Macedonian sided FK Vardar on their upcoming pre-season tour to Austria.

The game will take place at Sportzentrum Friedberg at 12:00 BST on Saturday, 27 July.

It will be Swansea's second game of the Austria tour after they face German Bundesliga 2 side FC Koln at Thermenstadion Bad Waltersdorf on Wednesday, 24 July.

FK Vardar play in the Macedonian top flight and have previously faced Welsh opposition - taking on Barry Town in a Uefa Champions League qualifier in 2003.

Image source, Athena Pictures

Swansea City head coach Luke Williams said his players needed an opportunity to release their "frustrations" on the pitch in the club's first pre-season fixture.

The Swans beat League Two Swindon Town 3-1 in a behind closed doors game at the club's Fairwood training complex on Saturday.

Liam Cullen, Matt Grimes and Mykola Kuharevich scored the goals in a match that followed a morning training session.

Williams told the Swansea City website his players "needed to go and play against live opposition."

"There are a lot of double sessions so there is a lot of frustration for the players to release on the opposition today," he said.

Williams will oversee a week of "hard work" on the training pitch in Fairwood before the squad heads to Austria for a week of preparation which will again involve double training sessions.

New signing Goncalo Franco watched the victory against Swindon but has now finally trained with his new club after he joined from Portugese side Moreirense.

The 23-year-old midfielder's pre-season preparation had been delayed as paperwork was finalised and Williams is looking forward to his contribution.

"I’m sure he is going to be an entertainer. I think he understands already the level of commitment that he has to show," said Williams.

"I think we need to get him up to speed with conditioning, he is a bit off that which is normal of course, so we have a nice few weeks in store for him to get him to the right condition."

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Former Swansea City defender Alan Tate has been named Steve Cooper's number two at Leicester City.

Swansea legend Tate, who left the club in 2021 to join Cooper's staff at Nottingham Forest, had been out of work since departing the City Ground last December .

With Cooper succeeding Enzo Maresca at the King Power Stadium, 41-year-old Tate will once again link up with the Welshman as his assistant.

Goalkeeping coach Danny Alcock, who also left Forest following Cooper's departure, has also joined the Foxes as part of the backroom team.

Former manager Harry Griffiths outlines his football philosophy in this 1977 BBC Wales interview with reporter Peter Walker.

Griffiths, who enjoyed 25 years as a Swansea Town player, is often credited with laying the foundations for John Toshack's successful reign as Swansea City manager.

Toshack took charge in 1978 and kept Griffiths on as his assistant. Sadly, Griffiths would pass away shortly before the team's promotion from the old Fourth Division that year. He was only 47.

Ian Hunt
BBC Sport Wales

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A possible reunion between Luke Williams and Macaulay Langstaff in Swansea is off after Millwall signed Notts County's star striker.

Langstaff had been strongly linked with the Swans this summer, having scored 70 goals in 90 starts for the Magpies in the National League and League Two.

It was thought the fact Langstaff played under Williams at Meadow Lane would give Swansea the edge to sign him - but he is heading for south London rather than south Wales.

The prolific 27-year-old has sealed a move worth a reported £700,000 to Millwall, where he will be working under ex-Cardiff City boss Neil Harris, a former striker himself.

The Lions have signed a player who won the League Two Golden Boot award for 2023-24, having scored 28 goals - four more than both Wrexham’s Paul Mullin and Salford City’s Matt Smith.

He was also named in the EFL Team of the Season for League Two, two years after joining County from Gateshead in 2022.

Missing out on a goalscorer as prolific as Langstaff is a blow to Swansea, even if he is untested at Championship or even League One level.

Swansea are desperate for a striker capable of at least getting close to the 20-goal-a-season mark.

Last season's top scorer for the Swans in the Championship was Jamal Lowe with nine, one more than Jerry Yates who has since joined Derby County on loan.

Of course, it is not just in attack that Williams wants to strengthen his squad. Reinforcements are wanted right across the pitch.

That search for new faces continues - with less than five weeks until the 2024-25 Championship campaign begins.