Cardiff City debacle shines further light on Swansea City problem that must be addressed | OneFootball

Swansea City wingers struggled badly at the Cardiff City Stadium and were comprehensively outplayed

The 18th January 2025 will be remembered for all the wrong reasons by Swansea City supporters.

Swansea were thrashed 3-0 by their biggest rivals Cardiff City, an embarrassing result made even worse by the Bluebirds' lowly position in the Championship table, and it's been a bleak 2025 for the Swans so far.

Swansea have picked up just one point from their four Championship games this year, while they were also dumped out of the FA Cup by Southampton, and the feel-good factor that had built up over the Christmas period thanks to two good wins has well and truly disappeared.

Freak results happen, particularly in derbies, but what happened on Saturday was anything but a freak result, and bar a handful of half chances, Swansea didn't look like scoring.

The performance at the Cardiff City Stadium also highlighted the ineffectiveness of Swansea's wide players, and it's clear that's a position that Luke Williams needs to address this month.

Cardiff City debacle highlighted Swansea City's winger problems

There wasn't a single Swansea player on the pitch in Saturday's derby defeat who could come away with their head held high, but wingers Ronald and Jisung Eom were probably two of the worst.

Despite having played in South Wales Derbies before, the pair looked completely overawed by the occasion, and despite getting into some promising positions, some of the deliveries into the box were incredibly poor.

Ronald and Eom were two punts, brought in from the Portuguese and South Korean leagues respectively, and while there have been bright moments at times, like Ronald's Player of the Match winning performance against Cardiff last March, the pair have been well off the pace recently.

In fairness to Ronald, he's registered six Championship assists this season, a decent return, but he looks half the player that he did when he first arrived at Swansea in terms of his dribbling and ability to beat a man.

Meanwhile, Eom also looked a good signing when he first arrived, but since returning from the injury he sustained on South Korea duty he has struggled, and the performance against Cardiff was the worst of the lot.

Eom was dropped in favour of Brentford loanee Myles Peart-Harris for the visit of Sheffield United on Tuesday night in what was an improved performance by Williams' side, and while Peart-Harris isn't an out-an-out winger, he performed well.

Ronald also played better on Tuesday night against the Blades, but more of that is needed if he's to get back to the levels the Jack Army know he's capable of.

Saturday's showing at the Cardiff City Stadium was one that neither Ronald nor Eom will want to be reminded of, and it's clear that Swansea need reinforcements in that area this month.

Signing wide players is a non-negotiable for Swansea City this month

Swansea have a tiny squad, and they're yet to make any signings this month, adding further pressure on Williams and his small squad of players.

Williams has the likes of Ronald, Eom, Peart-Harris, Josh Ginnelly and Sam Parker as his wide options, but Ginnelly and Parker are coming back from long-term injuries, while Peart-Harris is more of an attacking midfielder, meaning he's short of options.

Florian Bianchini was signed as a wide player, but it's clear he's better as a striker, and Azeem Abdulai, who has often been used on the wing, has been sold to Leyton Orient.

Swansea have been linked to a number of wide players, with the likes of Tyrhys Dolan and Luis Palma just some of the names that have been touted, and the Swans' new owners have to provide Williams with at least one wide player this month.

Chairman Andy Coleman recently revealed that players would only be brought in if they improved Swansea's first-team, but you could argue that it's not too hard to do that at the moment, particularly in the wide positions.

Swansea have a habit of leaving their January transfer business late, or even failing to make a signing like they did in January 2023, and they can't afford to do that again this month.