A Key January for the Swans: The Players to Help Keep Them in the Top Flight

It’s been another rough start to the season for Swansea City. The Welsh club sit uncomfortably in the relegation zone having won just two in 13.

Paul Clement still believes he’s the man to take them forward, and the board are seemingly sticking with him. Tony Pulis has been rumoured to be interested in the job and Clement is the favourite amongst football betting teams to be sacked next in the Premier League.

Either way, work in the January transfer window is needed, and rumours are flying about who could make their way to the Liberty Stadium in the new year…

Santiago Arias

The full back areas are definitely in need of improvement at Swansea and they seem keen on making a move for PSV right back Santiago Arias.

The 25-year-old has been plying his trade in the Dutch Eredivisie since 2013 and has notched up 134 appearances for his club.

He’s highly regarded in his home nation of Colombia and a move to the Premier League is high on his agenda.

The Swans were put off by a £12million price tag in the summer, but times are a little more desperate now.

Jonathan Viera

Speaking of desperate, the Swansea attack is in dire need of talent. Having lost Gylfi Sigurdsson and Fernando Llorente in the summer, they’ve not really replaced their goals.

The return of Wilfried Bony has failed to set the world alight, so a new face, or a few, will be vital in January.

It’ll be make or break for the man in charge when it comes to buying new attackers. Jonathan Viera of Las Palmas seems the most likely man to turn to.

He was called up to the Spain squad recently but a £30million release clause could prove to be a sticking point.

The 28-year-old was linked with a move in the summer but nothing materialised, will it be a case of same again?

Vincent Aboubakar

Another player who was linked with signing for the Swans in the summer is Vincent Aboubakar.

The Porto man is dead set on a move to England and his form will make him a wanted man this January.

The Cameroonian forward has 14 goals in 16 games for the Portuguese outfit, goals that’d be vital for Paul Clement’s men.

He’s shown an interest in the club, the club now need to go and get him. 

Which Swans manager has the best Premier League win ratio?

Paul Clement's job is edging closer to being untenable according to the majority of Swansea City fans, despite his heroics at the back of end last season.

Saturday's disappointing display in the 2-1 loss at Arsenal enraged many fans as the former Bayern Munich and Chelsea assistant manager refused to make positive, attacking changes.

Clement's defensive approach has been very much hit and miss this campaign, resulting in successful results against Southampton, Crystal Palace and Spurs, but the Swans still only sit narrowly above the drop zone on goal difference.

After delving deeper into the complete statistics, we discovered that Paul Clement's 35.71% league win record as Swansea manager actually makes him the second best Premier League manager in the club's history at the time of writing.

But who tops the list?

Well, no surprises for assuming who's in last place! That prize goes to American boss Bob Bradley, who managed a dismal 18.81% league win ratio in his reign of terror in 2016. He may have been given a weak hand and very little time, but performances and results were truly awful and it's still rather baffling how he got the job in the first place.

Ironically in the fifth place, the Europa League spot, is Michael Laudrup. The Dane made history by winning Swansea's first ever major trophy in 2013, battling for Capital One Cup glory and earning the Swans first venture into Europe in 22 years. Domestically however, Laudrup's record was somewhat underwhelming.

Laudrup's ninth place finish in 2012/13 actually only saw 11 league wins in total. Just five more than that Capital One Cup campaign! The distraction of trips to Spain, Russia and Switzerland in the Europa League certainly didn't help his cause, but his accrued league win percentage stands at 27.41%.

In fourth spot is the man who brought the glory days back to Swansea. Brendan Rodgers led the Jack Army to their first top flight appearance since 1983, doing so with an easy-on-the-eye footballing style beloved by neutrals far and wide. That unique pass-based gameplan gained plenty of plaudits as the Swans earned a surprising 11th place finish - but how many games did Brendan win at the helm?

On the whole, Rodgers left with a superb 44.79% win ratio. In the Premier League, however, his total 12 wins from 38 earns him a disappointing percentage of 31.57%.

Marginally behind Paul Clement in second place is the man who began last season in charge - Francesco Guidolin. The experienced Italian was granted just seven games in the dugout before the hierarchy got rid last season, in spite of a hard-fought 12th place finish in the season previous.

It's a controversial decision to this day - Guidolin had seen far too many of his key players moved on in the transfer window and the Swans fans had a lot of time and respect for him. Nevertheless, it is what it is.

So here we are. Most fans will have already worked it out, but it's true. Swansea City's best Premier League permanent manager since 2011 is club legend Garry Monk!

His role in helping the Swans recover from a dreadful first half to the 2013/14 season was pivotal, restoring the positive vibes in the dressing room. In his only full season at the helm, Monk led the Swans to their highest Premier League finish of eighth, bringing in highly successful signings Lukasz Fabianski and Gylfi Sigurdsson that season.

Despite seeing positives from his signings of Bafetimbi Gomis and Andre Ayew, Monk was moved on in December 2015 with three wins from 15 league matches.

Nonetheless, Monk's complete combined league win record of 35.82% remains ever-so-slightly better than Clement's current record of 35.71%.

Monk's sacking was deemed harsh by many at the time - would sacking Clement get the same kind of response?

Arsenal 2-1 Swans - Abject Swans cling on to 'positives'

For 30 minutes at least, Swans fans astonishingly began to believe that a near-impossible win at the Emirates was on the cards. As ever, that dream was shattered limply in the space of 10 minutes in the second half.

It could have all been so different. Should Jordan Ayew have squared the simplest of chances to Tammy Abraham when he dispossessed Per Mertesacker inside the Arsenal penalty area with minutes left until half-time, it really could've been game over.

Instead, we're left to hear the same old soundbites. Paul Clement claimed that 'a good performance is just around the corner' midweek, while citing plenty of improvements and positives after another failed good performance on Saturday.

Yes, the goal was a lovely move, Abraham's perfectly weighted pass was dispatched with calmness and precision from Sam Clucas - but where were the other positives?

Arsenal controlled the game, not just in terms of possession (of which they had 73%), but in terms of the flow and the chances. The first Arsenal goal was a tad lucky with the ball bobbling to Kolasinac rather fortunately, but the second goal was a complete and utter shambles. Ramsey was in acres of space, queuing up with other teammates inside the box, while Kolasinac had all the time in the world to pick the pass.

That second half Swans display was almost certainly one of the worst we've seen all season. The lack of changes, attacking intent and belief in the ranks at 2-1 was disturbing.

Clement said post-match: "It's always going to be a difficult test against an Arsenal side with so many quality offensive players - you have to be so focused for the whole game. I thought we deserved a point."

Words of a man clutching at straws with his job on the line, no doubt. And rightly so after another 90 minutes evidence of regression.