Matos explains Swansea's summer transfer plans

ByGareth Vincent

BBC Sport Wales

Vitor Matos says Swansea City must avoid another overhaul of their playing squad when the transfer window opens this summer.

Swansea brought in 12 new signings in last year's summer window while a host of players also departed.

Eight new faces arrived in the 2024 window and 13 were signed during what turned out to be a particularly underwhelming summer in 2023.

While Matos feels there is a need to strengthen, Swansea's head coach believes his squad needs fine-tuning rather than major work in the upcoming close season.

"It's not about changing 14 players and getting 14 new ones - the base is there, the foundations are here," Matos said.

"It's quite clear the need for depth in the squad - that's quite clear for everyone and I think that's something that we need to take care of.

"Looking what positions we want to strengthen, which kind of profiles we want, that's how it will be. It's to try to improve what we have and I think that's what everyone wants."

The extent of Swansea's summer transfer work will depend in part on how many departures there are.

Three of their four loan players are expected to depart, with left-back Ishe Samuels-Smith (Chelsea), Malick Yalcouye (Brighton and Hove Albion) and Gustavo Nunes (Brentford) heading back to their parent clubs, and Matos has indicated that they are unlikely to return next season.

Leo Walta's case is different, with the Finland midfielder due to complete a permanent move to Swansea in the summer having joined on an initial loan deal in the mid-season window.

There are only two senior players, defender Joel Ward and third-choice goalkeeper Paul Farman, whose Swansea deals expire at the end of the season.

Matos says "everything is still on the table" regarding the futures of the out-of-contract duo.

"We will finish the season and then speak about it," he added.

Then of course there are players who are under contract at the Swansea.com Stadium but could attract bids from rival clubs.

The future of Zan Vipotnik could be a talking point throughout the summer, with Matos acknowledging that interest in the Championship's top goalscorer is inevitable.

It would be no shock should the striker move on, though the new deal he agreed last month strengthens Swansea's hand when it comes to any transfer negotiations.

Matos says it would take "proper money" to convince Swansea to sell the Slovenia international. The suggestion, at this early stage at least, is that a bid in the region of £15m could make a deal happen.

Another asset who may well attract offers is Ethan Galbraith, though Matos remains hopeful he will be around for a while yet with contract negotiations ongoing.

Josh Tymon is another Swansea player whose form this season must have attracted admiring glances from elsewhere, while Lawrence Vigouroux has also impressed on a consistent basis.

But Matos will have fingers crossed that most if not all of his key performers are still around come August.

With Samuels-Smith going and Kaelan Casey not replaced following his exit in January, Swansea will be in need of defensive reinforcements this summer.

There could be another vacancy should Ward depart, though the recent re-emergence of Sam Parker and the impending return of Filip Lissah after an excellent loan spell in Scotland will come into the equation.

Swansea look well stocked in central midfield, although a player with power is likely to be on the wishlist for Matos.

They already have Marko Stamenic and Jay Fulton, but there is a feeling within the club that more physicality is required to cope with the rigours of the Championship.

With Nunes leaving, at least one wide player will be a target – and it may be that Swansea look to do further business in that area given the lack of goal threat coming from their flanks this season.

Up front, meanwhile, Swansea are in good shape with Adam Idah competing with Vipotnik and Liam Cullen also offering an option. All that will change, of course, should Vipotnik be sold.

Matos says mass alterations must be avoided otherwise the work done on the training ground and in the meeting room since he took over in November "was just for nothing".

"The ownership has a really clear vision of what they want for the future," he added.

"I buy into that and they bought into my ideas as well. That was always the common ground, that's why [my] contract is until 2029.

"We had a transfer window with more limitations, that was January. Now a little bit different, so let's see how it goes."

Regardless of what business is done, Matos insists he is excited about the summer because of pre-season.

Since taking the reins, the Portuguese has continually referred to the lack of training time available given the frequency of fixtures in the Championship.

This week is an ideal example. Having hosted Southampton last Saturday, Swansea travelled on Monday to face Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday before returning to Wales in the early hours of Wednesday.

After one full day at the training ground, they were back on the bus on Friday for the long trek east to face Norwich City on Saturday (15:00 BST).

"I will say it now, the best transfer [of the summer] will be the pre-season together," Matos said.

"It doesn't mean that you're going to win all the games, but it means you create basics to be closer to success and you create basics that when there's a little bit of a storm, you always find a way to get out.

"That will be massive for us."