Premier League season preview: Swansea
Swansea lost several key players this offseason. How will they respond in Francesco Guidolin’s first full season as a Premier League manager?
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INS: Leroy Fer (undisclosed, QPR), Mike van der Hoorn (undisclosed, Ajax), George Byers (free, Watford), Tyler Reid (undisclosed, Manchester United), Mark Birighitti (free), Fernando Llorente (undisclosed, Sevilla), Borja Baston (£15 million, Atletico Madrid)
OUTS: Lee Lucas (released), Henry Jones (released), Daniel Alfei (released), Kyle Copp (released), Alex Gogic (released), Raheem Hanley (released, Northampton Town), James Demetriou (released), Gareth Owen (released), Eder (undisclosed, Lille), Alberto Paloschi (undisclosed, Atalanta), Andre Ayew (£20 million, West Ham), Kyle Bartley (loan, Leeds), Oliver Davies (loan, Kilmarnock), Liam Shephard (loan, Yeovil Town), Matt Grimes (loan, Leeds), Ryan Hedges (loan, Yeovil Town), Josh Vickers (loan, Barnet), Baftimbi Gomis (loan, Marseille), Kenji Gorre (loan, Northampton Town), Adam King (loan, Southend United), Josh Sheehan (loan, Newport County)
THE STORY: Swansea started the 2015-16 Premier League season like gangbusters, as they made a brief appearance in the top four. However, struggles on the road ultimately led to the sacking of manager Garry Monk, a brief flirtation with the relegation battle through the third quarter of the season, and ultimately another mid-table finish as key contributors early on trailed off substantially toward the end of the campaign. Needless to say, things could have gone better for the Swans.
But if a change in personnel is any indication of better things to come, then Swansea should be in line for a big improvement in 2016-17.
The club enter the new season with new owners in Americans Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan, an almost-new manager in Francesco Guidolin, who took over from Monk in January, and several new faces in the first team.
The arrival of Levien and Kaplan has led to a major shakeup in the squad, with several big moves taking place at the end of July and beginning of August. The most notable of those moves saw the departure of Swansea’s two best forwards, Andre Ayew and Bafetimbi Gomis, to West Ham and Marseille (on loan), respectively.
Ayew and Gomis will be big misses for the Swans, but the club has looked to Spain to try and refresh the attack, adding 31-year-old proven goalscorer Fernando Llorente from Sevilla and 23-year-old Borja Baston from Atletico Madrid. The hope is that those two will not only keep the attack humming, but perhaps make it even more dangerous.
The biggest remaining question concerns the defense. Swansea’s captain and center-back, Ashley Williams, is reportedly on his way to Everton, which leaves a major hole in the heart of the defense. The Swans still have almost a month left of the transfer window to buy a replacement, but they may be forced to turn to newly-acquired youngster Tyler Reid sooner than previously expected.
Swansea shouldn’t panic, however. While they have a lost a few key members of their team, they seem to have spent wisely so far, and the majority of the squad who finished 12th last season is still intact. The key will be finding some consistency and improving their record away from home — they earned 30 points at home last season compared to only 17 away. If the Swans are going to have any hope of climbing out of the middle of the Premier League table, that must be the first change in 2016-17.
KEY PLAYER: Swansea wisely locked up Gylfi Sigurdsson to a new four-year contract this offseason on the heels of his Iceland team’s surprisingly impressive performance at Euro 2016. The 26-year-old is the Swans’ most talented player and his role in the middle of the pitch is crucial.
When Guidolin replaced Monk last season, perhaps no one on the first team squad responded more emphatically than the Iceland man. Not only did he score nine goals in the second half of the season, but he showed more energy and creativity from the midfield than anyone on the roster.
Sigurdsson was always going to be an important player for Swansea this term, but the departure of some the team’s other best attackers means he will have to be even more influential early on as the new signings bed in. Sigurdsson is the key to the Swans’ success this year and if he can show the same fire he did to help them avoid relegation last season, they could flirt with a top eight finish.
MANAGER: This will be Guidolin’s first full campaign with Swansea. There were definite concerns when he was announced as Monk’s replacement; the former Udinese manager had no Premier League experience and, frankly, not many fans knew who the hell he was.
However, Guidolin proved adept in his time in Italy at making the most of the talent at his disposal at a series of clubs with limited resources. He showed that ability again with the Swans and was able to galvanize the squad and pull them out of a relegation battle and comfortably into mid-table. After his first preseason with the team, Guidolin will have high expectations in his first full season.
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BEST CASE: A league title, even if Leicester did it, isn’t in the cards for Swansea, but earning a Europa League berth could be a possibility if a few bigger teams disappoint.
WORST CASE: Guidolin can’t sustain the form of the second half of last season, the new signings don’t work out and Swansea are relegated, bringing their run in the Premier League to an end after six seasons.