SWANSEA’S PLAY-OFF PAIN – ONE YEAR ON
SWANSEA City’s hopes of reaching the Premier League were dealt a fatal blow one year ago today. On May 29, 2021, Steve Cooper’s Swans were beaten 2-0 by Brentford at Wembley. Ivan Toney struck from the penalty spot early on before Emiliano Marcondes fired home the second just 10 minutes later as Thomas Frank’s men booked their place in the Premier League.
Cooper left the Swans later in that summer, with a number of players departing south Wales in the aftermath of the play-off final heartache. But where are they all now?
We took a closer look at what every player in the Swansea squad for that fixture is doing now.
FREDDIE WOODMAN
The goalkeeper - who conceded the penalty in the play-off final - was a pivotal figure in both of his seasonlong loan spells with the Swans. Woodman remains contracted to Newcastle United but was most recently on loan with Bournemouth. He made just one appearance for the Cherries having featured five times in the opening half of the 2021/22 campaign for the Magpies.
IAN MITCHELMORE
Football Writer ian.mitchelmore@walesonline.co.uk
KYLE NAUGHTON
The veteran defender recently signed a one-year contract extension with Swansea having been a vital piece of the defensive picture under Russell Martin. He recently surpassed 200 appearances for the club.
BEN CABANGO
The Welshman is currently recovering from an ankle injury that cut short his season. Cabango significantly improved during head coach Martin’s debut campaign with the Swans and has established himself as one of the key assets within the squad.
MARC GUEHI
A star performer for the Swans during his 18 months on loan from Chelsea. Guehi secured an £18m move to Crystal Palace last summer and has excelled in the Premier League while also earning his first cap for England earlier this year.
CONNOR ROBERTS
The Welshman left his boyhood club on the final day of the transfer window last summer, joining Burnley as Swansea continued to balance the books. After a tough start to life at Turf Moor, Roberts shone in the second half of the campaign, although the Clarets were unable to preserve their top-flight status.
JAY FULTON
The Scot was a regular under Steve Cooper but barely featured last season under Russell Martin. He was widely expected to leave in January but remained at SA1. Fulton still has two years left to run on his contract with Swansea but could be sold this summer as the club bid to free up funds to re-sign Joe Allen.
MATT GRIMES
The only man in Swansea’s ranks to play every single minute of league action last term, Grimes - as he was under Cooper and Graham Potter - has remained a key figure for the club. He signed a long-term contract in November and has fully bought in to the methods of the current coaching staff.
CONOR HOURIHANE
The Republic of Ireland international produced moments of brilliance in a Swansea shirt after joining on loan from Aston Villa but was once again loaned out by the Midlands outfit. Hourihane spent the duration of last season on loan at Sheffield United who suffered play-off final pain of their own. The 31-year-old is now a free agent.
JAKE BIDWELL
Bidwell was a firm fixture in the line-up under Cooper and made 19 appearances under Russell Martin this season before signing for Coventry City in January. He has been a regular with the Sky Blues who finished in 12th place last term.
ANDRE AYEW
The attacker was Swansea’s talisman in the Cooper era, scoring 35 goals across his two seasons in the Championship. But he became a free agent last summer and joined Qatari outfit Al Sadd. Ayew is likely to be included in Ghana’s squad for the World Cup.
JAMAL LOWE
Lowe started the season with Swansea and made six appearances in August before joining Championship rivals Bournemouth. He made 36 appearances for the Cherries, scoring seven league goals as Scott Parker’s men secured promotion into the Premier League..
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YAN DHANDA
The attacker’s Swansea career never really got going after what was a dream debut at Sheffield United on the opening day of the 2018/19 campaign. He has just been released having made only six appearances last season.
RYAN MANNING
The Irishman struggled for regular minutes under Cooper but became one of the biggest beneficiaries of the managerial change last summer. He made the left centre-back spot his own for a long spell while he was also deployed at wing-back.
LIAM CULLEN
Martin showed plenty of faith in the Welshman early on this season, although he quickly fell behind
Joel Piroe in the pecking order. He endured a tough loan spell with Lincoln City in the second half of the 2021/22 season and will return to Swansea for pre-season next month.