From watching Michael Laudrup on Sky Sports coverage of La Liga last season it was evident that the Dane wasn’t just charismatic, but also very knowledgeable about the beautiful game.
Some people have said his appointment as Swansea boss is a gamble, I think it could be a masterstroke.
Allen
There has been lots of talk about Swansea’s star midfielder Joe Allen leaving Wales for Brendan Rodgers new club Liverpool. A fee of £15million has been mooted, but Laudrup has stated that he believes that Joe Allen would be ‘very, very expensive’ for Liverpool to sign.
Laudrup has even stated that he believes that the Welsh international is worth £20million, if Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson was worth £17million last summer. He is quite right to talk up his player, the Dane knows that if he does sell then it will be for a very good fee.
Overpriced
I believe that selling Joe Allen for £15million would be good business for the Welsh side. The midfielder may have shown promise in his first season in the top flight, but that’s all it was one season. It looks like Liverpool could be paying over-odds for a player again, just like they did last summer. However, Allen does have immense potential.
Style
Last season Swansea impressed everybody with their style of play. Brendan Rodgers philosophy on football was carried out to a tee by his players. Their style won’t change much under Laudrup, he to has the same philosophy on how the game should be played.
In fact, I think he may even be able to get more out of Swansea than Rodgers did. Laudrup is already saying all the right things and I think the Swans could surprise people this season.
Shrewd
Laudrup has already been very shrewd in the transfer market by capturing the signature of Spanish attacking midfielder Michu, for just £2million. The player was outstanding in La Liga as he scored 15 goals from midfield to help Rayo Vallecano avoid the drop.
Laudrup has also brought in full-back Jose Manuel Flores from Genoa for £2million and midfielder Jonathan De Guzman on-loan from newly-relegated La Liga outfit Villarreal. De Guzman was previously highly-rated, but his career has stalled in the last few seasons.
Swansea will of course miss attacking midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson, who performed brilliantly on-loan in the second half of last season, but Michu could be his perfect replacement.
Michael Laudrup has lots of contacts in many different countries, but his links in Spain could be vital for him to improve his squad. You can guarantee that players will be attracted to Swansea by Laudrup’s presence at the club. Swansea are believed to be close to signing a striker and a winger.
Fit
It remains to be seen how Michael Laudrup will do as Swansea, but one thing that is for sure is that the Dane and Swansea fit together perfectly. Swansea needed somebody to carry on the good work of Brendan Rodgers and Laudrup needed a team that liked to play attractive, passing football.
Laudrup has never managed a club in British football. This lack of experience will be negated by the fact that he has an unbelievable knowledge of world football. The other bonus as a foreign coach coming in is his ability to speak English.
Other foreign bosses have failed in England because of their inability to speak the language, including former-England boss Fabio Capello. The Danish legend won’t have the same problem.
Surprise
Everything seems set at Swansea for Michael Laudrup to be a big success. Whatever happens, the new season promises to be an interesting one at the Liberty Stadium. I wouldn’t be surprised if Swansea finished even higher up the Premier League table this season.
Will Michael Laudrup be successful at Swansea?
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