Inside Swansea City's pre-season as new boys in the building and absences explained

Yahoo

02-07-2025

Swansea City's players have returned to pre-season this week to be put through their paces ahead of the new campaign, and there's already been plenty to take in from it all.
As is customary at this time of year, fitness is the main order of the day for the squad, who are under the guidance of a new look coaching team this summer, with Darren O'Dea joining up with Alan Sheehan's backroom staff following his move from Celtic.
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There have been some older faces too, with legends Alan Curtis and Leon Britton both dropping in on the squad this week to see how things are going as the Swans click their preparations for the new season into gear. Sign up to our Swansea City newsletter here.
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The players have already been seen going the SDS running test, a fitness routine that was originally introduced by UEFA for elite referees.
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It's designed to replicate the sort of high-intensity runs seen during a real match, with participants making a single run of 60m, before then doing two runs of 30m each and then finishing with another single 60m run. Hence the name, Single-Double-Single (SDS).
The sort of heat seen this week clearly makes tests like this one far more of a challenge, with the likes of Josh Key, Josh Tymon and Zan Vipotnik all feeling the burn.
As too were some of the new boys. Ricardo Santos, for example, couldn't help but give out a exhausted puff of the cheeks by the end of it, while fellow new boys Bobby Wales, Melker Widell and Zeidane Inoussa could similarly be seen sweating it out before taking on some hydration in the Fairwood sunshine.
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Youngster Filip Lissah was could also be spotted in the background. The 20-year-old defender remains highly rated by insiders, but hasn't yet managed to make his mark on the first team set-up.
Cameron Burgess, meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen, although his absence isn't any cause for concern. The Australian, who sealed a free transfer from Ipswich Town has been granted extra time off following his exploits for the Socceroos this summer.
Melker Widell and Zeidane Inoussa have linked up with their new team-mates for the first time -Credit:Swansea City
The same goes for Ben Cabango, Ollie Cooper and Liam Cullen, all of whom were called up to the most recent Wales squad last month.
Despite all the hard work, popular midfielder Goncalo Franco was all smiles on his return to south Wales. The Portuguese star enjoyed an impressive opening season in English football, one that has even attracted the interest of several sides on the continent.
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Eom Jisung, another still perhaps finding his feet in this league, will similarly be hoping to build on what felt and encouraging end to his first Championship campaign.
As it turns out, the Korean has been working hard for the last couple of weeks now, focusing on his conditioning and agility, as well as his physicality, something that was arguably something of a weakness to his game last term.
The Korean is clearly keen to add an explosive element to his game, and will be hoping his recent hard work gives him an edge as he bids to nail down a regular place in Sheehan's plans next season.
Another man that's been doing plenty of individual work in the last few weeks is winger Josh Ginnelly.
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Well, not quite individual.
Indeed, the 28-year-old was working alongside former team-mate and Swans hero Jamie Paterson last month in a bid to raise his sharpness ahead the next few weeks.
The sight of Ginnelly involved in some gym work this week further suggests his injury struggles may, at long last, be in the rear-view mirror, and with one year left on his current deal, he may well feel this is a big season for him.
It's understood he has been participating fully alongside the rest of the group.
Ginnelly was snapped alongside another forgotten man in striker Jerry Yates, whose future at the club still feels uncertain ahead of the new season.
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Yates spent last term on loan with Derby County, and the club are likely to listen to offers over the coming weeks, although for now he has returned to be part of the group again.
Andy Fisher, Cameron Congreve and Joel Cotterill are also back in the building following their own respective loan spells away.
And there's plenty of hard work ahead for all of those in building. The squad are set to fly out to Spain later this month for a week-long training camp, which will culminate in a friendly with Stevenage at the Pinatar Arena on July 19.
Leon Britton and Alan Curtis both dropped in on the squad this week -Credit:Swansea City
There are also likely to be a few behind-closed-doors encounters over the next few weeks, but supporters can still catch the Swans in action at Cheltenham Town on July 23 and at Exeter City on July 26.
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They are then poised to return to the Swansea.com Stadium to take on French side Lorient on August 2.
It's very possible they may yet have a couple of new faces in before then, with the club still working hard on adding a couple more new faces over the coming weeks.
After initially cooling their interest this summer, the City are believed to have once again put Leyton Orient's Ethan Galbraith on the table, although they haven't yet made any sort of concrete moves. Sign up to the Swansea City WhatsApp service to get breaking news and top stories sent to your phone.
Gabi Kanichowsky is seemingly among the potential alternative options to have been sourced in recent weeks, although it's understood their interest remains tentative at this stage.
Lewis O'Brien remains someone the club would love to bring back to the club following his sparkling loan spell last season, but the potential finances involved render a move unlikely. The same can probably said for striker Oli McBurnie, although interestingly a move hasn't yet been categorically ruled out for either player.
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There are likely to be a number of twists and turns before the start of the season and, as suggested earlier, there will surely be a couple of departures before the summer is out.
Finally, the club are still yet to offer up any suggestion on when their new kit will be released.
Fans have already had the pleasure of viewing their heroes in a new training kit, with the Resin Co. recently announced as a new sponsor.
However, there's no sign of the home or away kits as yet. For reference, the Swans had released last season's kit by now, so there could well be some details dropping very soon.