Swansea City pair have a month to save their careers in South Wales: View | OneFootball

Nathan Tjoe-A-On and Kristian Pedersen have the month of August to prove they're worth keeping at the club

It's fair to say that not all of Swansea City's 2023 summer business was a success, despite the likes of Josh Key and Josh Tymon proving to be excellent additions.

Swansea made 13 signings last summer following Russell Martin's departure, and while there have been varying degrees of success, a number of the recruits have proven to be poor signings so far.

However, no matter what happened last season, pre-season offers players the chance to train and play friendly fixtures in a bid to impress manager Luke Williams, and you feel as if two players in particular must make a statement if they're to have any future at Swansea.

Nathan Tjoe-A-On and Kristian Pedersen enjoyed difficult first seasons in SA1, and the pair are yet to feature in a league game under Williams, both having spent the second half of last season on loan at Heerenveen and Sheffield Wednesday respectively.

However, they remain at the club, and they'll be looking to force their way into Williams' plans with the season just around the corner.

Nathan Tjoe-A-On and Kristian Pedersen have a month to save their Swansea careers

As first seasons at a new club go, it was a pretty disastrous one for both Tjoe-A-On and Pedersen, and many of the Jack Army will be surprised to see that they're still at the club.

Indonesian international Tjoe-A-On was signed from Excelsior Rotterdam last summer and the left-back is yet to make his debut for Swansea, highlighting just how difficult a season it was for the 22-year-old.

Meanwhile, experienced Championship defender Pedersen signed from FC Koln, and he made just five appearances, just one of those coming under Williams in a FA Cup game against Morecambe.

However, pre-season has given the players the chance to stake a claim for a place in Swansea's squad, and if they impress in training, there's no reason why they can't play an important role next season.

Swansea have a small squad, and with just Harry Darling and Ben Cabango on their books in central defence, there's no reason why Pedersen can't provide adequate cover, particularly with a wealth of Championship experience from his time at Birmingham City.

Meanwhile, Josh Tymon is Swansea's only recognised left-back, so Tjoe-A-On could provide some much-needed depth and cover.

The pair have had chances in pre-season friendlies, and they need to capitalise on this, having missed pre-season last year.

You feel as if Tjoe-A-On and Pedersen are running out of time at Swansea, and if they don't impress this month, then their careers in south Wales will be over before they've even started.

It's up to Nathan Tjoe-A-On and Kristian Pedersen to show why they were signed

The defensive duo were only signed last summer, so Swansea clearly saw something they liked then, and they haven't become bad players overnight.

Joining after the 2023/24 season kicked off put the duo on the backfoot from the very beginning, as they were always behind their peers in terms of fitness and tactics, and that's something they should be looking to put right this summer.

Despite being just 22, Tjoe-A-On has experience of playing in the Eredivisie and at international level, and Pedersen was an experienced Championship campaigner during his time with Birmingham, also becoming a full Denmark international, so these aren't bad players by any stretch of the imagination.

Joining the club late in the summer, coupled with injury niggles meant that Pedersen didn't get a chance of a sustained run in the team, and Tjoe-A-On never got a chance at all thanks to injury.

Had Swansea's squad been bigger with more depth, the pair could well have been shipped out and seen their careers in south Wales come to an end by now, but the lack of depth in certain positions could well mean they have a role to play this season.

It's unlikely they'll be in the starting XI for Swansea's trip to Middlesbrough on the opening day, but the Carabao Cup tie against Gillingham on the 13th August could well give them the chance to show what they're capable of.

Impress there and the duo could well have a future in south Wales, fail to impress, and it feels like their time at the club will come to a premature end.