Swansea City are reportedly advancing in talks with Portuguese manager Vitor Matos as their replacement for Alan Sheehan.
After a poor start to the season, the Irishman was sacked by the Jacks just months after being handed the permanent job following a successful interim spell at the end of the previous campaign. With an international break, City have not had to appoint a caretaker, hoping instead to install a new boss by the time they play Bristol City this weekend.
Matos Move Edges Closer
Multiple names were mooted to be favourites for the hotseat in South Wales, with the leading contender being Hammarby boss Kim Hellberg. However, Swansea were pipped to the post by Championship rivals Middlesbrough, who are on the verge of appointing him as a successor to Rob Edwards.
This has led the ownership structure at Swansea, headed by American businessmen Brett Cavett and Andy Coleman, to scramble for new options ahead of the weekend, and according to Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, have settled on Vitor Matos after a recent surge in betting odds for the Portuguese coach.
The 37-year-old is embarking on his first senior role in management with Liga Portugal 2 team Maritimo, who are in 3rd place in their division. However, he has plenty of experience coaching in England, being the 3rd in command at Liverpool during their successful period with Jurgen Klopp.
He followed assistant manager Pepijn Ljinders to RB Salzburg upon their departures from Anfield in 2024, with that stint in Austria ending in the Dutchman’s sacking in December of that year.
Yet Another Gamble By Swansea
If Alan Sheehan’s appointment was a risk by the ownership at Swansea to return them to competitiveness, then this is yet another roll of the dice. Matos is just months into his first job as a head coach, and while in a promising position with Maritimo, has a 50% win rate from 12 matches.
Parallels could also be drawn to Stoke City‘s decision to appoint Narcis Pelach last season, with the Spaniard also having limited experience in charge of a senior squad. Nevertheless, it seems Matos has earned the confidence of the hierarchy at Swansea to fullfill their hopes of a return to the Premier League in the future and it is now up to him to deliver.
