Swansea City: Luke Williams must have new transfer priority after Norwich City collapse | OneFootball

Josh Key and Josh Tymon have been weak links at the back for Swansea City in recent weeks

The opening weeks of 2025 have proved to be a difficult time for Swansea City's players, and while the majority of Luke Williams' players have struggled, some have struggled more than others.

Josh Key and Josh Tymon are certainly two players who have endured tough starts to the year, and their performances in the 5-1 defeat to Norwich City on Saturday were the worst of the lot.

It's not unfair to say that Swansea's full-backs have always been better at attacking than they have at defending, but their recent performances can't be ignored as it's costing them goals nearly every game.

Tymon was caught out of position a number of times on Saturday as the Canaries ran riot, and Norwich's third goal came thanks to Key getting dispossessed in midfield, an all too familiar story in recent weeks.

It leaves Swansea with an unlikely new transfer priority in the final week of the transfer window, and it's a problem that must be addressed.

Norwich City collapse leaves Swansea City with a new transfer priority

On the whole, Tymon and Key have been decent signings for Swansea since joining from Stoke City and Exeter City respectively, in the summer of 2023, but their recent drop-off in form can't be ignored.

In possession, Tymon and Key get forward, with Williams understandably keen to utilise their attacking threat, and Swansea revert to a back three, with Matt Grimes dropping between the centre-backs.

However, this leaves Swansea susceptible down the flanks, and many times this season they've been caught out this season, none more so than in the defeat at Carrow Road.

It's a risky way of playing as you always run the risk of being caught out by a counter-attack, and at least two of Norwich's goals on Saturday came when Tymon was completely out of position, allowing Josh Sargent all the time in the world to score.

Given their recent run of form, Swansea could do with a more pragmatic approach in coming weeks to pick up some points, and Williams must be tempted to use Burnley loanee Hannes Delcroix at left-back, a position he has played in the past for Anderlecht.

Swansea also have the likes of Cyrus Christie and Kyle Naughton as options at right-back, but they've been favoured as centre-back cover this season, and that could open the door for a signing at right-back.

If Swansea are to dip into the market to bring in full-back reinforcements, they are running out of time with less than a week of the window remaining, and while it may not have been a position of priority at the start of the window, it certainly is now.

Timothy Fosu-Mensah might not be the answer for Swansea City

One right-back who has been linked with Swansea City this month is Timothy Fosu-Mensah, who has been a free agent since leaving Bayer Leverkusen at the end of the 2023/24 season.

However, he hasn't played a game of football since April 2023, and if he were to join Swansea it would take him weeks, if not months, to get up to speed, and they need players who are able to make a difference now.

There's no denying that Fosu-Mensah is talented. You don't play for the likes of Manchester United, Bayer Leverkusen and the Netherlands without having something about you, but Swansea should avoid a move for him this month.

He would likely want a short-term deal on big wages, something Swansea are unable to pay, and he would see the move to SA1 as a shop window to get himself fit and get a bigger move, so there's not too much in it from the Swans' point of view.

Signing a player in a position of need who hasn't played since April 2023 would sum up the haphazard recruitment approach which has served the club so badly since Andy Coleman joined the club, and offers no long-term solution.

Swansea should be turning their attention to players with EFL experience, preferably with experience of playing in the Championship, rather than spending big money on the wages of players who see the club as a stepping stone to a bigger move.

It shouldn't be too much of a surprise that Swansea are entertaining a deal for Fosu-Mensah given their lack of prior planning when it comes to transfer windows, and while full-back is a position where recruits are needed, they should stay clear of the Dutch international.

Coleman and Swansea's recruitment team have it all to do in the final days of the window, and they run the risk of finishing the month with a weaker squad than they started with, inexcusable given the club's fall down the Championship table this month.