Swansea City eyeing Hibernian boss David Gray | OneFootball

A major update in Swansea's manager search has been revealed.

Swansea City are understood to be eyeing up a move for Hibernian boss David Gray to fill their vacant managerial role.

That's according to journalist Alan Nixon reporting via Patreon on Wednesday, in what is a significant update on Swansea's manager search.

The Swans have been looking for the ideal candidate to succeed Luke Williams at the Swansea.com Stadium, and it now looks as though they've cast their net over Easter Road.

Swansea City identify Hibernian manager David Gray as potential Luke Williams successor

As revealed by Nixon, the Hibernian manager has emerged as a contender for the Swansea City job after his work with the Edinburgh-based side this season.

The 36-year-old has Hibs sitting third in the Scottish Premiership, with his side unbeaten in their last 15 games in all competitions, stretching back to a 3-0 defeat to Celtic on 7 December.

Gray has been a part of the Hibernian coaching staff since July 2021, where he served as both assistant and caretaker manager prior to taking on the full-time manager's job last summer.

Nixon states that his performances since taking over permanently at Easter Road this season have caught the eye of Swansea, and that a move to the EFL may be of some appeal to him, whilst also claiming that Gray ticks a lot of the Swans' boxes in terms of what the club's hierarchy are looking for in their new manager.

David Gray would be a gamble, but would follow Swansea City's managerial model

Having only stepped into his first full-time managerial role this season, Gray is still very much learning his craft in the dugout.

The Scottish Premiership and the Championship are two vastly different leagues, and as such, there's no guarantee that the former Manchester United youngster would translate his outstanding results with Hibernian to Swansea.

However, the Swans do have a track record of appointing young and upcoming coaches, with Williams, Russell Martin, Graham Potter, Steve Cooper and Garry Monk recent examples of that philosophy.

Those appointments brought about varying degrees of success, and that comes with the 'boom or bust' territory of entrusting a youthful and inexperienced manager to take over the helm.

But, there are plenty of positive signs that Gray would be the former should he become the Swans' new boss. One such example is his willingness to change when something isn't working.

During the first half of the season, Gray deployed a 4-2-3-1 system, but Hibernian weren't getting the results required for a positive campaign. Therefore, around late November, he switched to a back three approach, and his side has been flying ever since.

This tactical nouse and the ability to spot what isn't working and how to fix it is a trait not all managers possess. As such, he could be a very shrewd appointment for Swansea should they roll the dice on him.