Swansea City have agreed to extend manager Francesco Guidolin’s contract by two years, rewarding him for a stellar start to his Swansea career.
It was well documented that Brendan Rodgers was very much in the frame to take over in the summer, but the directors seem to have had a change of heart following Swansea’s recent success under Guidolin.
Swansea have recorded back-to-back wins against Liverpool and West Ham, impressing many in the process. Guidolin’s side have also won their last four home games in a row.
Chairman’s comments
Chairman Huw Jenkins spoke at length of his admiration of Guidolin, and said: “He has achieved the goal of securing top-flight football for this club with plenty to spare and has earned the right to start afresh next season."
He added, "It’s going to be another challenge for everyone, but we are looking forward to seeing how far he can take this squad of players over a full season.”
Jenkins also spoke about Guidolin’s tenure and with a full pre-season behind him, that the club can progress under the Italian.
He also said that Guidolin’s initial target was to avoid relegation and stated how impressive it was that the side escaped the drop some time ago, and has advanced to a mid-table finish.
Tough times for Brendan Rodgers
Initially people had thought that Rodgers’ wage demands would be a stumbling block, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, Jenkins and the people upstairs were planning to have Rodgers in charge, but Guidolin’s recent run of form seems to have swayed them.
When Guidolin took over, Swansea were 18th in the table and in a dire state. Since then, he has a win percentage of 46.6%, the highest of any Swansea manager in the Premier League and the side are now 11th going into the final game of the season.
With speculation over, the club can now look towards next season. Transfers can be arranged with the manager in place and it wouldn’t be a shock to see more youngsters bled into the squad against Manchester City on Sunday.