Swansea City Premier League season preview 2015/16

All the transfer news, statistics, pundit views and odds ahead of Swansea's 2015/16 season.

Position last season: 8th

Sky Bet title odds: 1500/1

Ins: Andre Ayew (Marseille), Eder (Braga), Kristoffer Nordfeldt (Heerenveen), Franck Tabanou (St Etienne), Oliver McBurnie (Bradford). 

Outs: David Cornell (Oldham), Jazz Richards (Fulham), Alan Tate, Gerhard Tremmel (both released), Kenji Gorre (ADO Den Haag, loan)

Overview

Swansea achieved their best ever Premier League finish and second best league finish in the club’s history in 2014/15 as Garry Monk made the transition from player to coach with ease. Indeed, Monk even subtly shifted the team’s style away from pure possession as Swansea continue to evolve.

Such is life in the Premier League, however, that those expectations won’t diminish in 2015/16 and further progress will be expected. The additions of Andre Ayew and Eder look to be savvy ones that could well make that happen.

What is progress for Swansea now? Well, fans will be looking for more domestic cup glory and it’s worth noting that a place in the top half would be the first time that the club has ever managed back-to-back top 10 finishes. It’s a target well within the reach of Monk’s entertainers.

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Ray Parlour's view: "Garry Monk has done a brilliant job. Everyone was waiting to see how he would do and he proved a lot of people wrong. He’s always very confident in his ability and he got his team playing very well. Can they build on that? We’ll have to wait and see but he’s done a brilliant job and it’s great to see a good up and coming English manager."

Ray Parlour's key player: "Jonjo Shelvey. I know he’s been sent off a few times in his career but he’s got to learn to keep the lid on it if he can. He’s a competitive player, he can score goals from long range and he could be influential in that midfield. It’s a big season for a lot of players there but Shelvey is a very exciting player to watch."

Opta stats

- Last term, Swansea became only the third team in Premier League history to beat both Arsenal and Man United home & away in the same season (along with West Ham in 06/07 and Chelsea in 09/10).

- Garry Monk has four more points as Swansea manager than predecessor Michael Laudrup despite managing 10 games fewer.

- Gylfi Sigurdsson was directly involved in 37% of Swansea’s Premier League goals in 2014/15; more than any other player.