Ashley Williams drops “tough” Swansea City, Luke Williams transfer claim | OneFootball

Ashley Williams has highlighted key issues Swansea City face in the transfer market

Highlights

Ashley Williams believes Swansea City need to make signings this summer to improve Luke Williams’ first team squad but has admitted that the South Wales club does often finds transfer business "tough" to get done.

The former centre-defender has admitted that there are plenty of barriers that prevent the club from competing in the transfer window.

The Swans are yet to make any additions to the team this summer, having come 14th in the Championship last season.

The gap to the top six ended up being 16 points, highlighting the work that needs to be done to get in and around the teams challenging for promotion.

Forward Jerry Yates has departed on loan to Derby County, which has also weakened their attacking options going into the new campaign.

Williams has highlighted the issues Swansea need to overcome to improve the first team squad this summer.

He has sympathised with Luke Williams, while pinpointing defence as an area that needs improvement in particular.

“I'm sure Luke Williams wants to bring some more bodies in the door,” said Williams, via Coin Poker.

“Whether that happens or not, it's always tough for Swansea to get players in just because of where it's located.

“They don't pay the biggest amount of money, so it's always tough.

“I think Luke can help the situation by just doing what he did towards the end of the season.

“And I don't mean results, but just the connection between him and the fans and the team and the fans.

“If I look at that second derby game against Cardiff at home, more days, more afternoons or more evenings like that with that kind of show of commitment and intent from the team will help bring the fans back on side and then it becomes a lot smoother for him.

“I do think they need some players, they need to shore up the defence a little bit, but there are good players in there also.

“I was massively disappointed with the way the season went for Swansea last year, as a big Swansea, like all the Swansea fans, it was just disappointing, it was flat.

“There was nothing to get behind apart from probably that one game against Cardiff at home.

“So a good start for Luke would be key and I'm sure they're working hard to try and get bodies in the door, but as I said, being there for so long, I do know how frustrating it can be at times, because there's not a lot of players jumping, especially foreign players, that don't know where it is or you look at it and it's quite far from everywhere else, so they have to work a little bit harder than other clubs to get players in.”

Luke Williams’ Swansea record

Williams was appointed manager last January, replacing Michael Duff at the helm after a disappointing start to the 2023/24 campaign.

He oversaw eight wins from 22 games to end the season, with the team coming in an underwhelming 14th place.

It has been a difficult last 12 months for the Welsh outfit, who have found themselves falling behind their promotion rivals after a strong 10th-place finish in 2023.

This summer will be key to bridging that gap, and they have until 30 August to find solutions to bring players into the squad despite the barriers mentioned by Williams.

It’s becoming harder and harder to financially compete in the Championship

Swansea are working on a very limited budget compared to the top teams in the Championship.

It is now becoming increasingly difficult for them to compete with the likes of Leeds United, Norwich City, West Brom, or Burnley.

Even some clubs coming up from League One in recent years have been able to overtake them in terms of spending power immediately after promotion, most notably Sunderland and Ipswich Town.

Portsmouth and Derby coming up this year represent further strong competition from the third tier, and it may only get worse as time goes on unless they adapt to these challenges and make Swansea an appealing destination for new players.