Kaplan to fly in and back boss Clement
SWANSEA City owner Steve Kaplan will jet in to the UK this week in a show of support to under-fire boss Paul Clement.
US businessman Kaplan – who with Jason Levien owns a majority share in the Swans – is set to arrive in the UK this week and will attend the crunch game at Burnley on Saturday.
It comes as pressure mounts on manager Clement who has faced flak from fans over a struggling start to the season that has left the club in the Premier League drop zone.
Swansea have lost six of their last eight games, leaving some to speculate over the future of 45-year-old Clement. Yet WalesOnline revealed last week Clement’s job is not under threat, with club hierarchy believing he can turn things around.
And it is thought that stance has not changed during an international break which has already seen West Ham manager Slaven Bilic pay the price for a poor start.
Kaplan is understood to have held a lengthy telephone conversation with chairman Huw Jenkins following last weekend’s dismal defeat to Brighton, with an acceptance that results and performances have not been good enough.
Yet confidence remains in Clement to address the side’s problems as the club look to avoid a snap reaction to the current woes.
Indeed, Kaplan’s presence at Turf Moor is said to be a bid to show the former Real Madrid and Bayern Munich No.2 has his backing. Levien will remain in the States on business while Kaplan attends a Premier League meeting before making his way to Burnley for Saturday’s game as Swansea look to avoid four defeats on the trot.
Clement is set to be boosted by the return to fitness of rookie Portugal ace Renato Sanches, the eyecatching loan signing who has so far struggled to impress since his deadline day move to the Liberty, while Wilfried Bony has also been declared fit.
Clement is keen to get Bony back to boost the side’s attacking threat having so far relied on the form of Tammy Abraham, the on-loan Chelsea striker who made his full England debut in Friday night’s friendly with Germany.