Swansea hatch plan to replace doomed Carvalhal with younger head coach
Swansea City are likely to revert to appointing a younger head coach, in the mould of Brendan Rodgers or Roberto Martinez, two of their most successful managers, in what appears to be a recognition that the club have lost their identity in recent seasons.
With relegation from the Premier League set to be confirmed on Sunday, manager Carlos Carvalhal, who arrived in late December, is expected to lose his job.
It is believed Swansea will not take up the option to keep the 52-year-old Portuguese after a disastrous run of form with no wins in nine matches in all competitions.
Whoever takes over will be Swansea’s fifth manager in just two years and it is understood the club accept that not only serious mistakes have been made but that they need to return to the “Swansea Way” of playing and the clear philosophy they had with Martinez and, subsequently, Rodgers, who took them into the Premier League in 2011.
Critics will argue that Swansea already tried this approach when they hired Carvalhal’s predecessor, Paul Clement, but they want a more attack-minded coach who will fit into the recent tradition of passing football.
As part of that, the club are likely to consider appointing a director of football. Serious mistakes have been made in the transfer market, with an unbalanced and ineffective squad, while Swansea’s scouting and recruitment department are regarded as out of date.
Chairman Huw Jenkins has suggested that he will review his position. Jenkins is not believed to be under threat of losing his job but he may become less involved in the recruitment of players and coaches as a result of hiring a director of football. Jenkins has, at times, worked as a de facto director of football.
It is understood that Swansea are in a financially-robust state. The majority of players have relegation clauses in their contracts even though the club have been in the Premier League since 2011. Swansea’s squad never recovered from the loss of both Fernando Llorente and Gylfi Sigurdsson last summer and it is no coincidence that no Premier League team has had fewer shots on target, and goals, than the Welsh side this season. They have scored just 27 goals in 37 games – leading to 20 defeats.