Swansea City have been forced to look elsewhere for Alan Sheehan’s successor after reports emerged claiming first choice Kim Hellberg has verbally agreed to join Middlesbrough.
The Swans opted to part company with Sheehan last week following a run of 2 wins from 10 games. This has left the Welsh-based outfit languishing in the bottom half of the Championship in 18th.
The final straw came on November 8th, when Ipswich Town visited the Swansea.com Stadium. A dominant display from the Tractor Boys, which included 2 own goals from former player Cameron Burgess, saw them emerge with an emphatic 4-1 victory.
Full time.#SWAvIPS | @SkyBetChamp pic.twitter.com/LV3pNv3Tcb
— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial) November 8, 2025
Hellberg Rejection Causes Change Of Plan
Immediately following Sheehan’s departure, it was claimed that Swansea had identified the highly rated Kim Hellberg has the ideal candidate to step into the dugout. The 37-year-old has emerged as one of the hottest young coaches in Europe and currently manages in his native Sweden with Hammarby IF.
He has long been on the radar of English clubs and reportedly held talks with Sunderland in 2023, whilst Swansea were also said to be keen last season when Luke Williams was shown the exit door in February. Nine months later, their interest remained.
Hellberg jetted into London last week to hold talks with the Championship club and it was believed to be a matter of when, not if, a deal would be struck. However, it now appears as if they have lost out to division rivals Middlesbrough.
The Teessiders are also on the search for a new head coach after Rob Edwards had his head turned by Wolverhampton Wanderers. Sensing an opportunity, Boro have seemingly appeared out of nowhere to swoop from under Swansea’s noses.
Familiar Face Set For Return?
Having had to go back to the drawing board, former boss Russell Martin has emerged as the new frontrunner. The 39-year-old previously joined the club in 2021, lasting 2 seasons before taking on the job at Southampton.
He guided the Saints to the Premier League via the play-offs in his first season in charge, but was sacked last December with the Hampshire-based side staring at instant relegation. This didn’t deter Scottish giants Rangers from appointing him in the summer, but his time at Ibrox was an unmitigated disaster and he found himself cast aside after picking up just 1 league win from 7 outings.
On Russell Martin…
We spent a huge amount of time together talking about our ideas. It had a positive influence, and that’s the most important thing. I think we were a positive influence on each other. pic.twitter.com/lKFflnA4Bj
— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial) January 19, 2024
Others said to be in the running include former Liverpool development coach Vitor Matos, ex-Wolves boss Gary O’Neil and another familiar face, Brendan Rodgers, who guided Swansea to the Premier League in 2011.
