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Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Ian Mitchelmore

Swansea City's summer transfer plan as major surgery needed amid expected exits

Swansea City's debt has been reduced as a result of their agreement that will see the ownership group increase their stake in the club.

On Tuesday night, it was confirmed that £6m worth of shares had been issued to Jason Levien, Steve Kaplan and Jake Silverstein, with loan notes due to be converted into equity as per an agreement reached in 2020.

On the face of it, a cash injection can only be seen as a positive for the Swans - who, like many others, are losing millions every single year, particularly clubs outside of the Premier League.

READ MORE: Swansea City receive significant investment as major ownership shake-up confirmed

But, it does of course mean the reality is that the latest sum - which follows the £10m that was ultimately converted into equity last year - is likely to be used to plug a financial hole.

Flynn Downes was the latest big money sale that helped the club remain financially stable, with the midfielder moving to West Ham United last summer for an initial £9m in a deal that could rise up to £14m with add-ons.

Michael Obafemi was then sold to Burnley in January, although no signings were made by the Swans, despite the fact the squad was weakened.

It has all left Swansea in a somewhat precarious position going into what is set to be a pivotal summer transfer window. Pundit Andy Hinchcliffe even warned the club that they could "implode". (You can read his comments in full here.)

The squad is in need of major surgery, something Russell Martin referenced in the aftermath of his side's 1-1 draw with Rotherham United on Monday night.

"Whatever way you look at it, it's going to be a huge summer for the football club," he said. "We have a small squad already. There'll be players that leave, so that'll make it even smaller.

"We've been lacking certain things in the building for 18 months that we really need to add if we're going to kick on and try to progress.

"Ideally we'll finish the season as strongly as possible and build some momentum, that'll help everyone. We'll just take it game by game, I know it's the oldest cliché, but it's how we approach things.

"The big picture will always be in reach, with the guys in the academy, the squad, looking at targets and players, looking at what we want in so we'll just continue down that road.

"I hope we'll have some more clarity on it in the next few weeks."

Goalkeeper has become something of a problem position given Steven Benda's injury. The German is expected to be unavailable until the final stages of 2023 having undergone knee surgery last month.

Andreas Sondergaard's short-term deal expires in the summer, meaning work will once again need to be done in the goalkeeper department given that Andy Fisher will be the only fit and senior shot stopper on the books.

Defensively, Joel Latibeaudiere, Kyle Naughton and Ryan Manning all see their deals expire following the conclusion of the current campaign. The latter is expected to depart, and the other two men could certainly follow suit.

Jay Fulton, Benda and Joel Piroe will all enter the final year of their deals with the club, while Luke Cundle and Matty Sorinola will return to Wolves and Union SG respectively following their loan spells in south Wales.

The squad will be alarmingly thin, and new recruits are sorely needed, even before the expected departures. And so, to this £6m sum.

Given the vast losses being made by the club, the owners remain intent on being prudent and as financially secure as possible. To that end, Martin won't be expecting significant backing in the summer.

The recruitment department will be looking to secure more clever loan deals while also attempting to utilise the free agents market in addition to scouring the lower leagues for talent they can develop and subsequently turn into assets, as was the case with Downes who joined from League One side Ipswich Town in the summer of 2021.

In the short-term at least, it looks as though the club's model will be to continue to put faith in young talent, including those from the academy.

Speaking after the Rotherham draw, Martin added: "In terms of us, we're planning with the young players in the building, we want to get to a point where we give some of them an opportunity on the pitch before the end of the season if we can, because we've got some outstanding players, even younger than the ones we have on the pitch currently.

"It's a great opportunity at this football club right now to be a young player and get an opportunity."

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