Ajax boss Frank de Boer is being linked with the vacant managerial role at Swansea
Premier League Swansea City are being linked with a move for Ajax boss Frank de Boer, who has hinted that he may be interested in taking up the manager’s role in Wales.
The Swans are currently without a boss following the departure of Garry Monk in December.
The Swans have not done too badly under caretaker boss Alan Curtis, picking-up four points from a possible six over the festive period.
Curtis is the favourite for the job on a permanent basis at odds of 8/13, but there has been speculation that he may be handed the reigns until the end of the campaign.
Highly-rated boss linked with job
One of the surprise names that have been linked with the vacancy by many of today’s British tabloids is the highly-rated Dutchman De Boer. He recently told the media in his homeland: ‘First you have to see what the plan is at a club and what I and the people I would take with me could add to it.
‘The last club I was linked with was Swansea City. I have had no contact with them at this time.
‘But what if these people paint me a pretty picture that they are in that category of clubs with which I could do something beautiful? Like clubs such as Tottenham and Liverpool.
‘Those are the sort of clubs with which you would want to work. But the most important thing would be the feeling I get.’
De Boer is currently the boss of Dutch giants Ajax and has a year left on his contract in Amsterdam. However, he is believed to be considering his future and a move elsewhere has been mooted next summer.
The 45-year-old has done a stellar job in the Dutch capital, winning four Eredivisie titles. His success as Ajax boss has already had the former-Barcelona ace linked with Premier League jobs at Liverpool and Tottenham, as he said in his recent interview.
No doubt De Boer looks like a highly-talented young-up-and coming boss and that is the sort of manager the Swansea hierarchy usually appoint.
A shrewd eye for a boss
Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins and his board seem to have a good eye for picking talented young bosses. Brendan Rodgers, Roberto Martinez and Michael Laudrup were all successful to a degree at the Liberty Stadium.
In fact Garry Monk himself managed to accrue a club-record amount of points in the Premier League last season, before it all went pear shaped this season. The Swans hierarchy certainly seem to do their homework and more often than not get their choice of boss spot on.
The only problem is that the bosses tend to enjoy short-term success and then suffer a glass ceiling effect after 18 months or so. They look at their squad and the resources then wonder how far the Welsh club can really go on their budget.
The Swans are currently just outside the Premier League relegation zone and have sailed close the wind before when it has come to relegation. The club survives by clever decisions in the transfer market by the clubs bosses.
One of the most influential signings of last summer was that of Ghanaian international forward Andre Ayew from Marseille in the summer on free transfer. French forward Bafetimbi Gomis has turned out to be a decent freebie as well.
The club are right for staying for running a tight financial ship, as that means the club will never get into financial difficulty, but ambitious bosses want to see that the club is willing to splash the cash in order to progress in the future.
Options
Anyway back to the search for a new boss. The Swans were believed to be in talks with eccentric Chilean boss Marcelo Bielsa, but it seems that has come to nothing. The former Athletic Bilbao boss is unlikely to fit the profile of the sort of person the Welsh side want to appoint.
The phrase ‘as mad as a box of frogs’ sums up Bielsa. However, he is regarded as a tactical genius, even if he is always just a few poor chosen words away from the men in white coats coming to take him away.
Former-Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has been linked with a return to the club where he established a big reputation. Even Frank de Boer’s assistant former-Arsenal striker Dennis Bergkamp has been mooted as a possible Swans boss.
The Swans cannot afford to make a poor decision on their next boss with the club so close to the top-flight drop zone.
De Boer is not likely to be available until the summer, so the mooted solution of giving Curtis the reigns until the end of the season is a major possibly. The Swans have done it before with Monk and he ended-up signing a permanent deal, albeit not lasting long afterwards.
Frank de Boer would be a very good appointment for Swansea. However if he becomes available in the summer, then there is no doubt like to be a clamour for his signature and Swansea may fail to get their man.
Would Frank de Boer be a good choice for next Swansea boss?
- Soccer News Like
- Be the first of your friends!
