TEAM PREVIEW: Swansea City – Guillem Bauza has fond memories of South Wales

 

Swansea looked like a team looking down rather than up when Michael Laudrup suddenly started to struggle and when Garry Monk came in, nobody could foresee the dramatic turnaround. Monk built a solid squad, taking Swansea to 8th in the Premier League and has already strengthened nicely ahead of the new campaign.

Last Season: Premier League (8th)

Manager: Garry Monk

 

Squad

GKs: Lukasz Fabianski, Kristoffer Nordfeldt
DFs: Jordi Amat, Neil Taylor, Ashley Williams, Franck Tabanou, Dwight Tiendalli, Angel Rangel, Kyle Naughton, Kyle Bartley, Federico Fernandez
MFs: Ki Sung-yueng, Leon Britton, Jonjo Shelvey, Nathan Dyer, Wayne Routledge, Jefferson Montero, Matt Grimes, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Jack Cork, Jay Fulton
FWs: Michu, Andre Ayew, Marvin Emnes, Eder, Bafetimbi Gomis, Modou Barrow

 

Transfers

In: Andre Ayew (Marseille), Franck Tabanou (St. Etienne), Kristoffer Nordfeldt (Heerenveen), Eder (Braga), Tom Holland (Manchester City), Olivier McBurnie (Bradford City)

Out: David Cornell (Oldham Athletic), Rory Donnelly (Gillingham), Curtis Obeng (Released), Scott Tancock (Released), Alan Tate (Released), Gerhard Tremmel (Released), Jazz Richards (Fulham), Adam King (Crewe Alexandra – Loan), Kenji Gorre (ADO Den Haag – Loan)

 

First Six: Chelsea (A), Newcastle United (H), Sunderland (A), Manchester United (H), Watford (A), Everton (H)

Likely Lineup: (4-4-2) Fabianski – Naughton, Williams, Fernandez, Tabanou – Ki, Shelvey, Sigudsson – Ayew, Gomis, Dyer

 

 

A word from…Guillem Bauza

On recently picking up his degree Thank you very much for the congratulations. Yes it was always the plan – ever since I was a child I always knew I was going to do a degree in something related to medicine and I’m really proud to have been able to achieve that now at the age of 30.

On Roberto Martinez’s influence upon moving to England Yes, he was a big influence. I was able to come down for the weekend and see the facilities, see how the city was and obviously experience the different culture. You need to adapt to that of course but for me it was ok, I knew it was going to be different. I tried to learn the language straight away and I tried to mix with the culture straight away – the fans made it really easy for me to settle too, of course!

To have someone from your country is a massive help because they’re having the same difficulties that you’re having at the same moment and it makes you feel better when you need something or someone to speak to from your country, you can rely on them, which is a good asset to have but also to have Roberto (Martinez) there too was a big bonus.

On his first season and important goals Well I was happy before that, I was really happy during the season with how I was performing, how the fans were treating me, how the club was doing. Yes, it is always really good to score those goals in those key moments but I was happy there anyway and I had made my decision to stay for another three years before those moments towards the end of the season. It was a good time for me of course to get those goals but I really enjoyed all of my time with the club.

On the current team and Garry Monk Yes I think they’re doing really great. The job that was started many years ago with the club in League 2 and, in gaining promotions, the club has definitely come on a lot. They’re doing the right things, they are doing good things by signing people from the club, they have Garry Monk who knows the club really well which adds stability.

Stability to a club like this means that in the long-term you will get better results – they did really well last year and I think they can do even better this year. When I got to Swansea, Garry was our captain, he was really approachable to people, but good at coaching as well and giving us good advice – just an all-round great captain. A great bridge between the players, the coaches and the hierarchy of the club and I think he is doing the same now – obviously he has moved up the ladder since then in terms of status but yes, I always thought he was a really good captain and that he had the potential to be a great manager.

I have to confess, I have been a bit busy with exams and the degree and everything so I haven’t been following the news of the club as avidly as usual but the new signings seem very exciting, they’ll definitely be in line with the club’s standards as Swansea have a very good recruitment process and make very little mistakes with signings.

On predicting such a strong future Well I couldn’t believe it that they had such ambition when I arrived at the club because everyone, Roberto, Huw Jenkins, everyone was talking about the end-goal being getting to the Premier League when we were in League One so obviously there was a real sense of belief about the place and when you have that belief in something so clearly, it seems very possible. It seems difficult for someone to sign for a League One club and believe that one day you’ll get to the Premier League but everyone at Swansea running the club believed that they could do it and they have and it’s all down to the belief they have had.

 

The Offside Rule Podcast Prediction: There’s no real reason why Swansea can’t have another excellent season. Andre Ayew is another great addition and they don’t have the distraction of Europa League football like the teams above them. They should be safe in the top 10 once again.

Key Player: Ki Sung-yueng – The South Korean midfielder was excellent for Swansea last season after coming back from a loan spell at Sunderland. Goals from midfield meant Ki was one of the most important cogs in the impressive Swansea machine.

One to Watch: Modou Barrow – He may wear the number 58 shirt but Barrow made 11 appearances last season, plus 4 out on loan at Nottingham Forest. A talented looking attacker, Barrow may get more chances to show what he can do this season.