Swansea City will pray Notts County swoop brings transfer refresh | OneFootball

Swansea announced Notts County's Richard Montague as their new Director of Football on Tuesday, which could bring a much-needed reset at the club.

Swansea City made an addition behind the scenes on Tuesday with the announcement that Notts County Director Richard Montague will become their new Director of Football.

Montague has played a key part in the Magpies’ rise in recent years, working alongside Danish owners Christoffer and Alexander Reedtz to help lift the world’s oldest football league club back towards the top of the League Two table.

The Swans will hope Montague can bring a marked improvement to their recruitment in future transfer windows, following another disappointing window this winter.

Struggling Swansea brought in just three new players over the course of January, but crucially lost club captain Matt Grimes to Coventry, with the midfielder bringing his spell in South Wales to a close after 10 years.

Swansea’s January transfer window was hugely disappointing

Swansea’s January window was always going to be an important one, given that they needed to ensure they didn’t sleepwalk towards the relegation battle.

However, a run of four defeats from five games in the league, combined with the squad arguably ending the window weaker than it was when it began, has brought criticism from the fanbase.

Up until Saturday’s 1-0 win away at Bristol City, there had been little sign of boss Luke Williams and his coaching staff being able to address their slide. Now just eight points clear of the drop zone, the Swans could face the ultimate punishment for their transfer failings if they don’t improve over the next few months.

Williams believes the Welsh outfit paid the price for a lack of preparation ahead of the window, after several key targets slipped through their fingers over the course of January.

Swansea added Burnley defender Hannes Delcroix and Nottingham Forest midfielder Lewis O’Brien on loan deals until the end of the season, as well as the permanent signing of Dane, Melker Widell, who will join the club in the summer.

However, there has been unrest at the Swansea.com Stadium after the club missed out on the likes of Wycombe’s Josh Low, as well as Jacob Wright of Manchester City and Red Bull Salzburg’s Bobby Clark.

Swansea’s month of disappointment in the market was recently addressed by Williams, with the 43-year-old stating the club have to “stop making the fans unhappy” with their transfer business.

The former Notts County boss added that he thought the club needed a restructure, saying: “What I feel is that there are a lot of things we need to do better. I think the disappointment will manifest in action – we can’t do that again.”

This is also far from the first time that the Swans have faced criticism for their business in the market. Back in 2023, they failed to sign a single player in the winter window, prompting Russell Martin to suggest changes were needed.

They then brought 13 new faces to the club the following summer, only for few to be a success.

Richard Montague should help to iron out those issues

Williams’ suggestions that changes were needed came to fruition on Tuesday, with the announcement that Montague will be following him to South Wales.

Having worked as Director at the Nottingham outfit for the last five-and-a-half years, he should be capable of bringing the experience in football recruitment that Williams identified as an issue.

Montague certainly achieved success working within the Magpies’ data-heavy approach to transfers, playing his part in bringing the likes of Macaulay Langstaff, Ruben Rodrigues and Alassana Jatta to the club.

He has spent the last 14 years working for the Reedtz brothers within their Football Radar firm, a company that specialises in football data analysis and betting advice. While it is unclear how much of Notts’ recruitment was down to the strength of their owners’ databases, Williams clearly has confidence in Montague’s abilities.

Given that the two worked together to successfully restore Notts to the Football League back in 2023, it seems hard to believe that Williams hasn’t had a great deal of influence in Swansea opting for Montague.

Their previous work together will also surely have made Montague the ideal candidate for the job, considering that he has first-hand experience of the types of players Williams likes to work with. That understanding will likely help to bring positive results for Swansea, who will be hoping their transfer business can become just as effective as what Montague has overseen at Meadow Lane.

In the immediate future, they must improve if they are to avoid being dragged into the thick of the Championship’s survival fight, especially considering that several of the teams currently below them have begun to show signs of life in recent weeks.

However, even if the Swans do survive in the Championship for next season, it could be vitally important that the new man adapts quickly to his role. If Montague oversees another sub-par window in the summer, it could see the club stand still while those around them improve, something which could potentially put them in massive danger of the drop next term.