Swansea will still be hurting from their play-off heartache after losing to Brentford, but they will need to pick themselves up ready for the new campaign in September.
Swansea put together a tremendous run post-lockdown, which saw them miraculously beat Nottingham Forest to the last play-off spot. The Swans overturned a six-goal difference, thanks to the help of their loanee striker, Rhian Brewster. However, it wasn’t to be as Brentford overturned a 1-0 defeat to win 3-1 in the second leg.
Brewster joined Swansea on loan from Liverpool in January and immediately hit the ground running, scoring a total of 11 goals for the Championship side. There’s no doubting that without his contribution, Swansea would have struggled to get anywhere near the play-offs, and his presence will be sorely missed next season.
Brewster is unlikely to stay at Liverpool and break into the first team, and a loan deal may be his best option once more, but it is still up in the air as to whether or not Swansea will be able to lure him back to Wales to have another go at helping the Swans secure promotion back to the Premier League.
Swansea will be hoping for a top-six spot once more, although without a top-class striker, they may find this difficult. According to the bookies, where you can get the latest 2020 football odds, Steve Cooper’s side are not strong enough for automatic promotion.
If Brewster is not to return to Wales, Cooper will need to look elsewhere. Another concern for Swansea and their fans is Andre Ayew, their star performing winger, may also be moving on, after an impressive season.
The 30-year-old finished as their top goalscorer, scoring 18 in all competitions, with 16 of them coming in the league. However, this has inevitably attracted attention and French giants PSG are rumoured to be interested in the Ghanaian international.
Cooper has already expressed how he feels Ayew should be playing at a higher level, and the Swans failing to return to the Premier League was always going to be costly, especially with Ayew already on high wages.
Replacing Ayew and Brewster who contributed a total of 29 goals last season isn’t going to be an easy task for Cooper and the Swansea hierachy. However, not many people gave the Swans a chance last campaign of a top six finish, and they clearly know how to get a deal done in the transfer market.
If Ayew is to leave, that would potentially free up the funds to bring Brewster back, if the young Liverpool striker believes the rest of the squad can help him to achieve his goals.
Despite a striker and a number ten being high on the list for Cooper, the manager has made it clear he needs to tighten up his defence and wants to add more defensive numbers to his squad.
It is certainly going to be a summer of rebuilding for the Swans, who will be hopeful of retaining at least one of their key assets from the last campaign.
