Swansea City: Middlesbrough trip showed glaring weakness in Luke Williams’ squad - View | OneFootball

Swansea City's trip to Middlesbrough showed how desperate they are for a new winger

Highlights

Swansea City began their 2024/25 Championship campaign with a 1-0 loss away to Middlesbrough, and supporters probably have more questions than answers after seeing their side in competitive action for the first time this season.

The Swans lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation as expected, but it badly exposed their lack of depth and showed exactly why boss Luke Williams wants to bring in four new players before the transfer window closes later this month.

With Josh Ginnelly still out injured, and Ronald on the bench having missed a large portion of Swansea's pre-season, Williams was forced to select 21-year-old defensive midfielder Azeem Abdulai on the wing, and whilst the Scottish man's efforts were admirable out of position, it was clear that he was a square peg in a round hole.

Abdulai gave away the penalty which led to the only goal of the game, and it's clear that winger is a position where reinforcements are desperately needed.

Swansea City need to sign at least one winger before the transfer window closes

Even when everyone is fit and available, Swansea have just three first-team wingers in the squad, and given the fact that 4-2-3-1 is their favoured formation under Williams, it's apparent that they'll need more than that as squad depth.

As it stands, Swansea have just Eom Ji-Sung and Ronald as fit options on the wing, and the latter's injury in pre-season meant that Williams had just one fit winger at his disposal for the first league game of the season, hardly ideal for a side that puts an emphasis on playing with wingers and putting balls into the box.

The Swans have had Ruben Providence on trial from TSV Hartberg, and they've also been linked with a loan move for Liverpool's Kaine Gordon, but they can't waste any more time and must sign a winger urgently.

There's a big couple of weeks coming up for Swansea, and they face a managerless Preston North End on Saturday, before hosting bitter rivals Cardiff City the following week, and the Jack Army will demand two big results.

Trying to play 4-2-3-1 with players who aren't out-and-out wingers is difficult, and it will limit Swansea's ability to create chances, as shown by Saturday's trip to Middlesbrough.

It was reported by the BBC that Swansea are looking to add at least one more wide player, and Saturday's showing suggests that the club's hierarchy can't afford to waste any time in doing so.

Starting the season with such a threadbare squad puts Swansea on the back foot

Swansea have seen 13 players depart this summer, whether that be on a permanent basis or players returning to their parent clubs, and they've brought just four in so far.

You don't need to be a mathematical genius to work out that means Swansea have a small squad, and their bench on Saturday highlighted just that.

Out of Swansea's nine-man bench, five of those had yet to make their competitive debuts prior to their trip to Riverside Stadium, and it shows just how limited Williams' options are.

Even more concerning was just one of those five players was a new signing, the other four were either fringe players or youngsters, and Swansea really need bodies through the door.

It's unrealistic to expect Swansea to have their summer business done by the first game of the season, but being so short of players is poor from the club's hierarchy and has led to Williams having to pick players out of position.