Swansea City's new owners already have major priorities as exciting new era awaits

Despite the cruel blow of Sunday's late, and somewhat controversial, defeat to Burnley, the excitement around Swansea City's new era appears largely unblemished.

The news last week that current chairman Andy Coleman, along with Brett Cravatt and Nigel Morris, was set to buy out Steve Kaplan and Jason Levien's majority shareholding in the club, was greeted with almost universal delight among Swans fans, many of whom are hopeful that this move will signal a new chapter.

Whether that excitement is justified remains to be seen. After all, it's important to remember that Coleman has himself been a part of the decision-making process at the club, and has similarly come in for criticism at times.

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But the hope will be that Coleman, liberated from the hierarchy over the pond, will now be more uninhibited in offering his own new and exciting vision for the club.

The details of that vision are yet to be fully explained, but supporters will hope it ultimately includes a path back to the promised land of the Premier League.

That goal admittedly feels some way off right now. Indeed the new(ish) regime are facing some far more pressing and immediate priorities.

For one, despite some decent business in the summer, the squad available to Luke Williams is clearly still desperately short in certain areas, particularly up front.

Swansea are currently the lowest scorers in the division, racking up just 11 goals so far, and despite an improvement from several attacking players, there is clearly still some need to strengthen.

Williams privately believes the likes of Zan Vipotnik have the attributes needed to shine in the Championship. Indeed, the Slovenian is understood to have hugely impressed his boss on the training ground since his arrival. However, the feeling is the number nine, along with a couple of others, still needs time to settle into life in the Championship.

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But even if those improvements fully come into fruition, there will still be room for improvements in January.

"Some of the scenarios don’t change whatever is going on because there potentially are gaps in the depth of the squad," Williams said.

"I think we have a good idea of what’s out there and which players we can realistically sign, so that’s good."

Another forward, at the very least, feels like a logical top target. Williams might well believe there's room for another winger too. A number 10, or someone that could fill the void left by Jamie Paterson would also be reasonably high on the wishlist, while there are also gaps in the defence.

January, not for the first time, feels hugely important. Not just for Swansea and Williams, but for Coleman himself, as this recruitment drive may well end up setting the tone for his reign, and offer us all some indication on what this new chapter will really look like.

The size of Swansea's war chest remains to be seen, but the latest change of ownership is understood to likely lead to around £20m being pumped into the club, and one would hope that at least some of that will be invested into the playing squad.

Williams himself says work ahead of the transfer window has already begun, adding that players have been identified ahead of the winter window.

"We’ve got some players who potentially would be a good fit for us and we will continue to monitor them as they play games and try to get a really good grasp on whether we think those players are the ideal ones for us," he said.

"That work has begun already."

Work is similarly under way on tying some of Swansea's stars down to new deals, including Ben Cabango and Harry Darling, both of whom are out of contract at the end of the season.

The duo have been standout performers for the Swans this season, more than playing their part in one of the Championship's meanest defences.

Williams recently revealed that progress has been made on a deal for Cabango, whom the club are understood to be increasingly hopeful of a breakthrough on, and similarly seemed to suggest there was some movement on Darling's situation too.

Coleman is, according to the Swans boss, taking a frontline role on it all, having been heavily credited for the move to tie Liam Cullen down to a new deal last month.

"He’s been in contact with me a lot more and incredibly supportive in that way," Williams said. "Much more feedback to me. I’m optimistic that we can have some good news on these guys."

The inability to secure extension for players before they enter the final years of their contracts has been a common, and thoroughly justified criticism in recent years, and Coleman's regime will need to show a more proactive approach going forward.

Jay Fulton, Josh Key, Josh Tymon and Andy Fisher are among the names who will be entering the final 12 months of their current deals this time next year, and it might well be wise to at least start thinking about pressing ahead with negotiations with some of them.

For now, however, the top priority is to keep Cabango and Darling on board. Losing either of them for nothing is quite frankly unthinkable.

Of course, both contracts and recruitment would have previously fallen under the remit of a sporting director, but with Paul Watson's shock departure, that position remains unfilled.

Coleman is clearly taking on those duties in the interim, but the club are still keen on hiring a successor, with chief of staff Ken Gude playing a key role alongside the current chairman in the search for a new candidate.

Watson's tenure was a somewhat chaotic one, so it's clearly of paramount importance they get the next appointment correct.

Having joined from Luton Town in 2023, Watson failed to endear himself to supporters, following a disastrous opening transfer window, as well as a highly publicised friendship with Nathan Jones.

A key role in the disastrous appointment of Michael Duff was clearly another black mark against his name, and supporters frequently voiced their concerns about his tenure, both on the terraces and at the last fans forum, where both he and Coleman were the subject of brutal criticism.

Getting supporters back onside will ultimately be the central goal for Coleman if this new era is to be a success.

There is some good will there already, with certain sections of the fanbase sympathetic to Coleman's efforts in the context of a perceived lack of interest from those above him.

But that good will soon evaporate if he takes another wrong turn or two, and judging by the recent fall in attendances, there's clearly some work to be done to ensure Swansea truly capture the imagination of supporters again.