Alan Sheehan now enters his first full summer transfer window at Swansea City, aiming to fortify the squad after securing a top‑half finish following a strong late‑season surge. He’ll oversee a busy window, with experienced exits like Joe Allen and Kyle Naughton leaving, and new signings including Melker Widell and Zeidane Inoussa already lined up.
00:00Well, the summer is here for Swansea City and that means that the transfer window is open for the championship club, that is, the Swans.
00:12Swansea, of course, they went through what was, let's be honest, a relatively mediocre season in England's second tier last season.
00:20Nothing much to shout about, certainly not as bad as their South Wales rivals in Cardiff City who were relegated to League One.
00:28And Swansea not going through that sort of pain and torture, but a season where not a lot went brilliantly well, not a lot went brilliantly wrong either.
00:37But it's just one of those where you've written it off now and they have to go into this new season and trying to be just that bit more competitive and push up the championship.
00:45Because, of course, Swansea not that long ago were a Premier League club and they were a thriving Premier League club as well.
00:52So they'd love to think that they could get back to that one day in the very near future.
00:57Of course, with the transfer window open, they'll need to strengthen their club and bring in some new targets that they're looking at.
01:04So to discover who they're looking at and who they might bring in this summer, let's go now to Charles Higg-Jones, our Wales sport correspondent.
01:11Charles, firstly, just what can you tell us about who Swansea City are targeting this summer to bring into the club to strengthen their squad and hopefully, for their sake, have a more enjoyable and competitive season in the championship compared to the one that they've just had in South Wales.
01:28Of course, as I mentioned before, not a brilliant season, not one for the history books at Swansea City, but one where they can learn and build on from what they experienced and had go against them and go for them.
01:40So who are they looking at and who do they want to bring into the club?
01:43Yeah, obviously, for Swansea City, Alan Sheehan, the manager, is going to have his first full summer in charge.
01:54And there's a fair few incomings already from the likes of Scotland as well, under 21 signings.
02:01There's Richard Ricardo Santos from Bolton.
02:04There's minimal outgoings as well, which is really interesting the way they want to do it.
02:10You know, Alan Sheehan's got a plan, he's got a real strategy for Swansea City and you want to make sure that they are reaching towards the upper echelons of the championship next season.
02:21I mean, that's the goal.
02:23And then obviously off the pitch as well, Luka Modric joining as a minority investor, which is obviously going to bolster the club's profile and transfer credibility.
02:31You know, this is in modern football now, you see a lot of ex-players getting involved with clubs.
02:36It's one that probably no one was really expecting.
02:39So why is Luka Modric gone and sort of invested a minority share in Swansea City?
02:45You have to ask that and you have to be thinking there's surely something brewing behind the scenes that is giving, you know, this credibility, this sort of interest for Luka Modric.
02:56Obviously, Ballon d'Or win and multiple Champions League win and one of the most incredible players over the last decade or so as well.
03:02And, you know, that's a really interesting situation there to certainly be monitored.
03:07The summer window, obviously, they've had a winger from Hacken, Zidane Inousa.
03:14He looks a good player.
03:15I mean, he looks an exciting player to sort of dribble well.
03:19From Kilmarnock, obviously, I touched on the striker situation as well from Scotland.
03:24Bobby Wales will come in.
03:26Blair McKenzie, a centre-back from Aberdeen, under 21.
03:29So more business from Scotland.
03:30From Scotland and then Cameron Burgess as well from Ipswich, experienced defender, is fantastic for them.
03:38And then I think the biggest point of this window so far is that there has been minimal, notable departures.
03:45So it seems like Sheehan knows what he wants.
03:49He's got modest squad adjustments only.
03:51Just to blend youth and experience for Swansea City, you know, in terms of Burgess coming in from Ipswich town.
03:59It's a massive signing. He's going to provide the leadership.
04:02But the youth is going to be really what's carrying them, you know, low-cost transfer fees to look like it's going to move them forward.
04:12And that's where Swansea City want to be.
04:14They want to be balanced in the championship and they want to be capable of pushing for promotion once again.
04:19And, you know, it's certainly a positive time to be involved at the club because they've got this investment off the field.
04:25They're going to have an interesting summer window as well.
04:27You know, expect more arrivals.
04:30And Sheehan's got sort of a fresh slate to go into the new season and really go, you know, full horns ahead and work hard and try and get Swansea City back to the Premier League.
