Swansea City

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Defender Stephen Welsh is ready to hit the ground running for Swansea City in the Championship after Cameron Burgess' injury blow.

The Swans get their league campaign under way with a trip to Stoke on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Welsh will hope to make his club debut after he was an unused substitute in last weekend's 1-0 Carabao Cup defeat by Birmingham.

Vitor Matos had made all five of his allowed changes by the time that Burgess landed awkwardly, with a scan confirming that the Australia centre-back had ruptured his right Achilles.

His misfortune opens up a spot next to Ben Cabango, with Welsh aiming to grasp his chance if he gets the nod.

"When I signed I was ready to come in and play," said the former Celtic defender.

"I have come in with a winning mentality from where I am from, it's all about winning and performing. This is a great opportunity to start well.

"I personally want to play as many games as possible and know how challenging the Championship schedule can be with games coming thick and fast."

Welsh spent last season on loan at Motherwell and mutually agreed to terminate the final year of his Celtic contract in the summer.

It did not take long to secure his next destination.

"Within a few hours Swansea were on the phone," said the 26-year-old. "That was the main reason that I wanted to come down, how quickly they acted.

"Within a day I was on the phone to Vitor Matos, with him telling me about the club and what he wants to do this season, how he sees his back four working and what he wants from me personally.

"The way he spoke about the team was very positive, so within a few days I was signed and ready to go."

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Swansea City will again be without new recruit Ross Stewart when they begin the 2026-27 Championship season at Stoke City on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Stewart joined Swansea on a free transfer earlier this month after failing to agree a new deal at Southampton.

The Scotland striker was not involved in last weekend's EFL Cup loss to Birmingham City having had no pre-season, and he will not be considered for the Stoke trip either as he continues to build fitness.

Swansea also continue to be without Goncalo Franco, while Cameron Burgess is expected to miss the entire league season because of an Achilles injury.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Vitor Matos insists Zan Vipotnik is happy at Swansea City after Hull City's failed bid for the Slovenia international striker.

Hull are believed to have offered in the region of £10m initially for Vipotnik last weekend.

The bid was rejected by Swansea and, while Matos accepts there could be more interest in Vipotnik, he says last season's Championship top scorer is in no rush to move on.

"We're really happy with him, he is really happy with us," said the Swansea head coach.

"If the right offer comes then we speak, if not keep going.

"He's really happy here with the situation. Of course, the market is open and you never know, but I think it's part of being a professional and Vipi (Vipotnik) is a really good professional, that's why he needs to handle that like we all handle it.

"So what we need to do as a club is support and focus on what is important, that is go to Stoke [on Saturday] and do a really good game."

Earlier this week, Hull boss Sergej Jakirovic cast doubt over whether Hull will return with a fresh bid for Vipotnik.

Speaking specifically on the promoted Premier League side's offer, Matos said: "That is normal. One club does a proposal, the other club sees if it's good, if it's not good, it rejects it."

When asked whether he expects the Tigers to make a second attempt to land Vipotnik, Matos added: "That's question for Hull, not for me."

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Boss Sergej Jakirovic has cast doubt over whether Hull City will return with a second offer for Swansea City striker Zan Vipotnik.

News emerged on Monday that Hull, who won promotion to the Premier League last season, had seen a bid for Vipotnik rejected by Swansea.

The Slovenia international, 24, was the leading scorer in the Championship in 2025-26.

Vipotnik netted 25 Swansea goals last season – including 23 in the league – and scored three times for his country.

Jakirovic was asked during an appearance on BBC Radio Humberside on Tuesday whether Hull had made an offer for Vipotnik.

"Yes but [it was] not enough and that's it," he said.

"Two days ago we send a bid and they reject it."

When asked whether the Tigers would make a second bid for a player he previously worked with at Maribor, Jakirovic added: "I don't know. I think no."

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Brimingham City boss Chris Davies believes no side will have more of the ball than Swansea City at the Swansea.com Stadium this season.

Birmingham claimed a 1-0 win EFL Cup win at Swansea last weekend despite having only 38.3% of possession.

Blues boss Davies, who was assistant boss at Swansea when they were promoted to the Premier League in 2011, reckons that on home turf at least, Vitor Matos' Swans will control the ball throughout 2026-27.

"No team in the Championship is going to come [to Swansea] and have more possession than Swansea this season - I am confident to say that," Davies said.

"Swansea to me look like a typical Swansea City side - 4-3-3, a lot of movement, difficult to contain, they have got some dangerous wingers that look threatening.

"I take a lot from our victory because it's hard [to play against them]. We tried to make it a messy game so they couldn't get into their rhythm.

"I think Swansea will be a really good team. They will cause a lot of teams problems."

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August Priske scored the only goal as Birmingham progressed to the EFL Cup second round in a game where Swansea failed to take their opportunities.

Birmingham finished 10th in the second tier last season, with Swansea only behind them on goal difference in 11th.

Davies believes both sides are preparing for a stern Championship challenge in the campaign which begins this weekend.

"With West Ham coming down, Wolves I think will be strong, Burnley will be strong, so that group will lift [the level of the division] up," he said.

"A couple of the sides coming up will be competitive I think and you can see across the board, you hear the numbers that someone has paid for this player, they are more than last year I would say.

"Some of that has surprised me a little bit but I think whatever that looks like, its going to be a really difficult league with the way it is, the volume of games, the physical nature of it."

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After Saturday's EFL Cup defeat by Birmingham, we asked Swansea City fans about their hopes for the season and what boss Vitor Matos needs to add for the Championship season which kicks off against Stoke City this weekend.

Here is what some of you had to say:

Clare: A couple more signings needed for strength in depth. Defensive cover required depending on how long Burgess is sidelined for – wishing Cam a speedy recovery.

Paul: We need someone with a good engine in central midfield. It's likely the man of the match this coming Saturday is one Ethan Galbraith. Why have we not replaced him?

Wayne: City are still short of a quality centre half, the midfield lacks creativity and attacking intent. On a positive note the new wingers look solid additions.

Marc: Ideally need two central midfielders who can show for the ball, dictate tempo and run the game from midfield like Galbraith could do. We need a centre-back who's good with his feet, ideally a left-footer, especially now that Burgess is injured. I also feel we still need a left-footed winger, as we're overloaded with right-footers. Congreve should still be there, in my opinion.

Anthony: We have the same issues as last season, our centre defence is not good enough. Burgess and Cabango are not Championship players, if we are aiming for play-offs then we desperately need to sort out the defence. The new signings will take time to settle but impressed on the first game.

Steve: The performance on Saturday does show some promise and if we take chances we will definitely win more than we lose. The worrying part is our defence. The goal we conceded was shocking and we still look nervous when teams press. Time will tell but I do feel a couple more signings and we will be in the mix.

Richard: The Swans were totally disjointed on Saturday because of the new signings. They didn't have any player on the field who was capable of getting a grip on the game. We lack a midfield general. The captain is not a strong enough leader to uplift players, and our so called defence, as usual, went awol at times.

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Swansea City have added former Brentford youngster Gregory Asemokhai to their under-21 squad.

The 19-year-old centre-back has signed a two-year deal with the Championship club after playing for Brentford B last season.

He also played for the Bees at under-21 and under-18 level.

"Gregory's composure, defensive awareness and willingness to play on the front foot make him an exciting young defender with significant long-term potential," said Swansea's head of academy recruitment Paul Robinson.

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Swansea City have rejected a bid for striker Zan Vipotnik from newly promoted Hull City.

The Premier League outfit are interested in signing last season's top scorer in the Championship, but have yet to reach a fee agreeable to the Swans for the 24-year-old Slovenian.

Vipotnik, who previously played under Hull boss Sergej Jakirovic at Slovenian side Maribor, scored 25 goals in his second season in south Wales.

He is currently under contract until 2030 at Swansea, having signed a new deal in March.

It was a frustrating start to the 2026-27 season for Swansea City, beaten by Birmingham City in the Carabao Cup.

The Swans failed to take their chances in a 1-0 home defeat by the Blues and will look to be more clinical in their Championship opener at Stoke.

They head to the Potteries on Saturday, 15 August (15:00 BST) with the aim of carrying on their progress under Vitor Matos.

Elijah Just, Joseph Opoku and Ross Stewart head the summer recruits but did the performance against Birmingham show that more signings are needed?

Are defensive reinforcements needed after the worrying injury to Cameron Burgess?

Have the Swans got enough to force their way into the battle for the extended play-offs?

Let us know what you think by clicking here.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Swansea City kick off the new season against Birmingham City on Saturday (15:00 BST) with Vitor Matos believing it will take time for his team to hit top gear.

Swansea could include five summer recruits in their squad to take on Birmingham in the EFL Cup, with Stephen Welsh, Tiago Parente, Joseph Opoku, Elijah Just and Moussa Yeo in contention to make debuts.

Fellow new recruit Ross Stewart will come into the mix in the next couple of weeks as he builds fitness, meaning there is a fresh look to a Swansea team who said goodbye to the likes of Ethan Galbraith, Malick Yalcouye, Joel Ward and Gustavo Nunes this summer.

Matos says Swansea have used pre-season "to build relationships, develop ideas and refine ideas from the past" – but that there is still work to do.

"Of course, any team in the world isn't the end product now," he said.

"I think we are stepping in that direction.

"You need to introduce the new signings and you need to adapt international players who return [to training] later, so there are a lot of small things that need time.

"Like all the teams at the moment, we are getting back in terms of game quality, in terms of fitness. That will come with the competitive games."

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Vitor Matos says there will be no change to his selection plans even though Swansea City's first game of the 2026-27 season is in the Carabao Cup.

Swansea host fellow Championship club Birmingham City on Saturday (15:00 BST) before starting their league campaign at Stoke City the following weekend.

Managers often use the early stages of the EFL Cup to give squad players game time, but Matos looks set to field something close to his strongest available side.

"We don't separate competitions," said the Swansea head coach. "We work for the next game and that's what we're going to do on this game.

"It's our first game of the season so for us it's a game we want to compete in. That's what we need."

Swansea are without midfielder Goncalo Franco because of the ankle injury he suffered last month, while new recruit Ross Stewart is not being considered having missed out on pre-season.

Zan Vipotnik is expected to play some part as he builds fitness following a quad injury, while captain Ben Cabango and summer signing Stephen Welsh are available after missing last weekend's Leganes friendly through illness.

Welsh, Moussa Yeo, Elijah Just (pictured above), Joseph Opoku and Tiago Parente are in contention to make competitive debuts for Swansea against a Birmingham side who drew their final pre-season friendly with a youthful Barcelona side last week.

The Blues, managed by former Swansea assistant boss Chris Davies, finished 10th in the second tier last season, ahead of the Swans on goal difference.

"Birmingham are a really good team, had really good results in pre-season if we look to the games they played against really good oppositions," Matos said.

"They are really aggressive, probably one of the most aggressive teams I've seen in recent times in terms of pressing, direct as well, set-piece is quite important, so it will be a really good challenge."

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New Swansea City signing Ross Stewart will not be considered for Saturday's EFL Cup tie with Birmingham City because of a lack of fitness.

The striker has signed a three-year deal with Swansea having been a free agent after leaving Southampton in June.

Though he went to the World Cup with Scotland, Stewart has joined Swansea having been without a club during pre-season.

"He will not be involved [against Birmingham]," said Swansea head coach Vitor Matos.

"He has missed all pre-season so he will need to start and step by step, [he will] get into the team."

Swansea's only other absentee for the Birmingham game is Goncalo Franco, who has been sidelined since suffering an ankle injury in the early stages of pre-season.

In mid-July, Swansea said the midfielder would be out for up to 12 weeks after undergoing surgery.

However, Franco is on course to come back earlier than expected, with the 25-year-old hoping to return to training by the end of August.