Swansea City: New name in the frame to replace Paul Watson | OneFootball

A new name has emerged as Swansea City look to appoint a new Sporting Director

Technical Director of the UAE Pro League Gareth Jennings is amongst the favoured candidates to become Swansea City's new Sporting Director, according to recent reports.

Darren Witcoop has reported via X that Jennings is one of a number of options to replace Paul Watson who left the Swans in October, less than 18 months after joining the club.

Watson was deeply unpopular with the Jack Army, with many supporters celebrating his exit, and the club will know just how important this appointment is to avoid a repeat of the same situation.

It's been all change at Swansea in recent times, with Watson's departure proceeding a change in ownership which saw Steve Kaplan and Jason Levien sell their stake in the club to Andy Coleman, Brett Cravatt, Nigel Morris and Jason Cohen, and it feels as if a new era is about to begin in SA1.

Gareth Jennings amongst favoured candidates for Swansea City's Sporting Director role

It's been a couple of busy months at the Swansea.com Stadium with the change of ownership, and appointing a new Sporting Director has been on the agenda for the club's new hierarchy.

Jennings, who is reportedly amongst the favoured candidates, won't be a household name to Swansea City supporters, but he's vastly experienced and is actually currently involved with the Football Association of Wales as part of its Technical Advisory Board.

He's currently Technical Director of the UAE Pro League, a role he's held since April 2023, while he's also currently a Non-Executive Director at League Two side Grimsby Town.

Jennings has also previously held academy roles with Leicester City, Bristol City and Stoke City, helping to oversee the likes of Harry Souttar and Tyrese Campbell transition to the first-team during his time with the Potters.

Former Stoke City and Portsmouth player Jennings has also worked for the likes of FIFA and New Zealand football as Head of Technical Leadership and General Manager of High Performance respectively, so he'll bring vast experience if appointed by Swansea.

Of course, there are other unnamed candidates in the mix for the role too, and Swansea supporters will certainly hope that whoever is appointed will enjoy a more fruitful spell at the club than Watson did.

Things are looking positive at Swansea City

If you had asked Swansea supporters a couple of months ago what they'd change about their club, the likely answer would have been the Sporting Director and the ownership, and their wishes have come true in recent weeks.

A new era is in full flow at Swansea, and while they still don't possess the finances that some of their Championship rivals do, things are looking more positive at the Swansea.com Stadium.

Previous Sporting Director Watson wasn't popular with supporters after some of their 2023 summer transfer business which saw money wasted on players who either weren't good enough or didn't fit the mould of a typical Swansea City player, and a repeat of that must be avoided.

Supporters will hope that whoever is appointed understands "The Swansea Way" and recruits players accordingly to suit Luke Williams' style of play, rather than the haphazard approach shown by Watson.

With the January transfer window just around the corner, supporters will hope to see a new Sporting Director in situ soon to give themselves the best chance of recruiting appropriate players next month.