Swansea City

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Vitor Matos saluted his goalscorers after a late flourish saw Swansea City finish the Championship season with victory over Charlton Athletic.

Substitute Adam Idah broke the deadlock with a crisp finish 16 minutes from time only for Miles Leaburn to level for Charlton five minutes later.

But Idah quickly helped himself to a second goal before Leo Walta – who had come on for the injured Melker Widell before half-time – secured a 3-1 win with a fabulous late free-kick.

Idah's double was a high note at the end of a difficult first season at Swansea for the Republic of Ireland international, who has played second fiddle to Zan Vipotnik and also spent three months out with a hamstring problem.

"I think he has done brilliantly after his return from injury [in March]," said Swansea boss Matos.

"He came back, he went with his national team, and then the first game for us is against Sheffield United, he comes on from the bench and scores.

"I am really happy for him - he has a good scoring record."

Idah finishes the season as Swansea's second top scorer with six goals.

He has featured 25 times in the Championship – but made only six starts - since a £6m move from Celtic last September.

"He has a lot of things to offer," Matos added.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

"His physicality, his presence, is really good. He needed to adapt to the style here, be much more involved without the ball and offering a much more clear idea of how to press.

"But he's buying into that and that just gives him a nice energy as well. When we have had a pre-season, and then he starts, we can count on him and he will be a massive player for us."

Walta's goal was his first since his January loan move from IK Sirius, which will be made permanent this summer.

The Finland international, 22, has taken time to settle in the Championship, but produced his best performance in a Swansea shirt against Charlton.

"It was a brilliant free-kick," Matos said.

"He's getting there step by step. He needed a little bit of time in the beginning to adjust and also to find his best fitness-wise because it was a hard moment for him.

"It's nice to see that he's going in the right direction."

Sweden international Widell ended the day in a protective boot after being withdrawn following a heavy challenge from Conor Coventry.

Eom Jisung missed the game due to a minor injury which Matos says will not affect his potential World Cup involvement with South Korea, while Lawrence Vigouroux was left out to give Andy Fisher the opportunity to play in goal.

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Vitor Matos says he is "really happy" with the contributions of Malick Yalcouye and Gustavo Nunes as the two loan signings prepare to leave Swansea City.

Midfielder Yalcouye (pictured above) and winger Nunes (below) will head back to their parent clubs after Swansea's season-ending game at home to Charlton Athletic on Saturday (12:30 BST).

Left-back Ishe Samuels-Smith also sees his Swansea loan spell conclude this weekend, though he has already returned to Chelsea after his season was curtailed by injury.

"They all were important in some moment of the season," Matos said.

"The loan spells were good for both [Yalcouye and Nunes] in terms of developing, good for us in terms of having players with that kind of profile, good for the mother clubs because they expose these players to the Championship level.

"I'm really happy for both of them and Ishe as well. They are really good kids, professional, and the squad loves all of them."

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Yalcouye, 20, has played 36 times for Swansea, scoring once, since arriving on a season-long loan deal from Brighton and Hove Albion.

Nunes, also 20, has featured on 12 occasions after joining from Brentford in January.

Teenager Samuels-Smith, meanwhile, was limited to only eight Swansea appearances as he played back-up to the consistently impressive Josh Tymon.

Leo Walta is a fourth loan player in Swansea's current squad, though Matos has confirmed that his move to Wales will become permanent as expected.

Veteran defender Joel Ward and third-choice goalkeeper Paul Farman are the only senior Swansea players who are out of contract this summer, with Matos reiterating the club are "still speaking" to the duo about their futures.

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We asked Swansea City fans for their views on what they want in the summer transfer window, whether Zan Vipotnik should be sold and if so, how much is the in-form striker worth?

Here are some of the replies.

Jake: Vipi (Vipotnik) signing a new contract means he will command a hefty fee if he goes. Could also be a signal of intent to keep hold of him. Either way, going to be tricky to fill that void. Starting centre-back and a consistent goal threat out wide needed.

Brayden: I reckon Swans should sell Vipotnik for no less than £15m and invest in defenders and wingers. Also, if Galbraith leaves we should also invest in a top-quality midfielder.

Alan: Give Adam Idah a chance, he looks useful, get rid of Ronald, Cullen, Fulton and Stamenic.

Keith: We need to keep Vipotnik and Galbraith as minimum and strengthen at the back, Cabango and Burgess are poor and aren't performing. Ronald also needs to improve. Unless we invest, it's another mid-table finish next season.

Gareth: We need wingers who can cross the ball, and just as importantly score a few goals themselves. This would add enormously to the good of the whole team. With a more potent attacking force we would spend less time defending and hopefully concede less goals. We also need more depth in reserve if we are to mount a serious challenge for promotion. The midfield worked well last season, so any new signing should be for back-up in defence.

These two sides can start planning for next season in the Championship after they meet on Saturday (12:30 BST).

Charlton's 2-1 win over Hull City last weekend prevented any final-day jitters while Swansea could move into the top 10 with a victory in south Wales.

• Swansea have only lost one of their past 10 league games against Charlton (W6 D3), going down 2-0 on MD1 of the 2008-09 season.

• Charlton have lost four of their past five league visits to Swansea (D1); all four of those defeats have been by a one-goal margin.

• Swansea have only won their final league game in one of the past five seasons (D1 L3), beating West Bromwich Albion 3-2 in 2022-23.

• Charlton have lost their final game in each of their past three Championship seasons by an aggregate score of 0-10.

• Charlton Athletic have only scored 43 Championship goals this season – the last time they ended a season with fewer than 50 league goals scored was in 2015-16 (40).

Image source, Swansea City AFC

Zan Vipotnik collected a hat-trick of titles at Swansea City's annual awards evening, named both the supporters' player of the season and men's players' player of the season, in addition to winning the club's top goalscorer prize.

Vipotnik has enjoyed a spectacular season in which he has scored 25 goals in 48 club appearances.

The 24-year-old Slovenian was nominated for the EFL Championship player of the season award, while he was also included in the divisional team of the year at the EFL Awards earlier this month.

His 23 league goals have him set to win the Championship's golden boot award.

Midfielder Ethan Galbraith was named Swansea's best men's newcomer, after joining from Leyton Orient last summer, while the women's best newcomer award went to Eilish Mitchell.

Midfielder Maddy Murray was named women's players' player of the season at the event in the Brangwyn Hall.

Chloe Chivers narrowly beat Aimee Deacon to the women's top goalscorer title, ending the campaign with 19 goals in all competitions, with 16 coming in the league.

Coach and former player Kristian O'Leary was given the Alan Curtis award for those who have made an outstanding contribution to the club.

O'Leary recently marked 30 years since making his senior debut for the Swans and made 334 appearances for the club.

He has since had spells with the backroom staff and in the club's academy, and continues as a coach in Vitor Matos' set-up.

There was a surprise winner of the men's goal of the season award, which was voted for by fans in attendance on the night, as Liam Cullen's long-range effort against Stoke City was chosen ahead of Josh Tymon's volley against Oxford, which was named Championship goal of the season earlier this month.

Image source, BBC Sport

Whether Zan Vipotnik stays at Swansea City or moves on this summer will have a significant impact on the club's transfer plans.

Should be Vipotnik be sold, the Swans will need a replacement - while they may also have greater funds to play with when it comes to potential signings.

Head coach Vitor Matos has indicated he wants to avoid an overhaul of his squad this summer, though there will undoubtedly be vacancies to fill.

So what do you think Swansea need in the summer transfer market? What areas of Matos' squad need attention?

Do you think Vipotnik will be sold - and if so how much is he worth?

Let us know what you think by clicking here.

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Swansea City head coach Vitor Matos hopes Ethan Galbraith will be rested by Northern Ireland this summer after a calf injury brought a premature end to his season.

Galbraith has enjoyed a fine debut campaign at Swansea, establishing himself as one of the Championship club's key players having joined from Leyton Orient last summer.

But the 24-year-old has not played since Northern Ireland's friendly draw with Wales on 31 March.

Galbraith, a midfielder or right-back, played 80 minutes in Cardiff as he made his 51st appearance of the season in what was a low-key game between two sides who had just lost World Cup play-off semi-finals.

He complained of a calf issue on his return to Swansea and was duly ruled out for up to eight weeks.

Northern Ireland will face France in Lille on 8 June, with a second friendly that month still to be announced.

"I think it doesn't make sense for [Galbraith to play in] the international break, but I leave that for the medical team and the medical team of the national team as well," Matos said.

"They need to decide between them what is the best, between both, so that's why you have doctors.

"I think it's the best regarding the situation of the injury, but then it's something that they need to speak about and everyone decides what's the best in that case."

Swansea finish the Championship season with a home game against Charlton Athletic on Saturday (12:30 BST).

Gareth Vincent
BBC Sport Wales

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Zan Vipotnik's penalty at Norwich City on Saturday meant another landmark in a season to remember for the Swansea City striker.

It is now 25 goals in 48 club appearances for the Slovenia international in 2025-26, with 23 of those strikes coming in 43 league games.

Vipotnik is the first Swansea player since Wilfried Bony in 2013-14 – the days of the Premier League and European football – to reach the quarter-century mark for goals in one season.

Only two others have achieved that feat since the Swans left Vetch Field 21 years ago, with Scott Sinclair famously reaching 27 goals as Brendan Rodgers' team were promoted from the Championship in 2010-11 and Jason Scotland netting 29 times as Roberto Martinez's side romped to the League One title in 2007-08.

The fact that Vipotnik's goals have come during a season which is to end in mid-table – and at one stage looked like it could turn into a relegation scrap – makes his tally all the more notable.

He is finishing the campaign in style, with six goals in his past six games, even if four of those have come from the penalty spot.

The late-season rash of spot-kicks should not distract from the fact that Vipotnik has scored all types of goals this season.

He has found the target three times at international level too, which will also have been noted by the various clubs who are bound to be assessing the former Bordeaux player's credentials as the summer transfer window approaches.

Swansea must wait and see what happens but there is already an acceptance that Vipotnik may well move on.

The good news for Swansea is that thanks in part to the new contract Vipotnik agreed last month, it will take a substantial fee – possibly something in the region of £15m – to land the Championship's leading goalscorer this summer.

And this after Swansea considered allowing Vipotnik to leave for a fraction of that price last August, before his early-season form prompted a change of plan.

What a shrewd decision that has turned out to be, however it was reached.

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Vitor Matos bemoaned the penalty decision which denied Swansea City victory at Norwich City as he paid tribute to the shift put in by his players at Carrow Road.

Swansea were short of their best as they played a second away game in four days against one of the Championship's form sides.

But having gone it level at half-time, Swansea edged in front through Zan Vipotnik's penalty.

They were on course for a battling away victory until Norwich, who had seen one appeal for a spot-kick turned down when Cameron Burgess challenged Mohamed Toure, were awarded a contentious penalty seven minutes from time.

This time Burgess headed Ali Ahmed's cross clear – but Lawrence Vigouroux was penalised for colliding with Mathias Kvistgaarden after he came off his line in an attempt to deal with the ball into his box.

"What can I say? I cannot control the decision. In my opinion, of course it's not a penalty, but it is what it is," said Swansea head coach Matos.

"It's body-to-body contact, a player going in one direction and a player going in the other. Then Cam clears the ball, so what can I say?

"It's not my job to decide that. So it's more about focus on the performance and that's what we will do."

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Swansea's display lacked the energy they had shown in Tuesday's victory at Queens Park Rangers, but they still did enough to maintain their positive late-season form.

The Swans have lost only one of their past six games – to a last-minute goal from a high-flying Southampton side – while the Norwich draw means they have matched last season's tally of 61 points with one match to play, against Charlton Athletic next weekend.

"I think in this moment of the season, the effort we are putting in, the professionalism, the mentality, the desire – I think that's what we need to focus on," Matos added.

"I think that's been brilliant so far and that's why I am so proud of the boys."

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Vitor Matos says his players deserve the credit for the turnaround in fortunes which has put them in contention for a top-10 Championship finish.

Swansea were staring at a relegation scrap after defeat in Matos' first two games in charge last November left them outside the bottom three only on goal difference.

But the Swans have since won 13 of 26 league fixtures to ensure they head into the final week of the season with a chance to improve on last year's 11th-place finish.

Swansea have taken an average of 1.53 points per game under Matos – compared to 1.06 this season before he arrived – while the goals scored per game average has gone from 0.9 to 1.42.

Their average goals conceded has dropped marginally, while they have nine clean sheets from Matos' 28 league games compared to three in the first 16 second-tier outings this season.

Most significantly, perhaps, Swansea's win ratio has gone from 25% in those first 16 games to 46% in the next 28.

When asked about the turnaround in form, Matos said: "I always said the squad has a lot of potential. There's a lot of things that are still a lot to unlock if we want, but for that you need time, you need training, you need consistency.

"It's not always possible to have everything built straight away and I think that's what we wanted - step by step, sorting the problems in the short term but also preparing for the future.

"The players bought into the ideas brilliantly. I think their character and their mentality is probably the main reason, not me."

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Swansea face a difficult trip to in-form Norwich City on Saturday (15:00 BST) as they look to end what has been a challenging season on the road with three successive away wins.

Their final game of the campaign is at home to Charlton Athletic on Saturday, 2 May.

Two victories could see Swansea finish as high as ninth, although Matos says he is "really happy" with his team's progress regardless of their league position.

"What we want is that the players feel they love to play with each other, that they love to stay in this club and they love to be here," he added.

"They have connected with the fans, that was quite important as well.

"Then of course, quality of the game, you need to improve that. If you want to be dominant with the ball, be an offensive team, you need to press right, you need to counter-press - that's massive for us.

"Then step by step, while adapting to this intensity - because it's also not easy when you press and you counter-press as much as us - we want to find a way to play with speed, but not rushing the game."

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Vitor Matos says Swansea City's search for a new sporting director is ongoing – but insists the wait for an appointment will not hinder the club's summer transfer plans.

Swansea are believed to have spoken to a number of candidates as part of the latest reshuffle of the club's behind-the-scenes staff.

One of those candidates is Steve Brown, a former Manchester United director of scouting who has also worked at Everton, but there are believed to be other names in the frame.

While the Swans are hopeful of announcing an appointment soon, head coach Matos says nothing is finalised yet.

"[The club] are still looking and the process is not finished," he said.

"That's the only thing I can say, that it's still a process and when it's done I believe you guys will be the first to know."

Matos, whose side go to Norwich City for the penultimate game of the season on Saturday (15:00 BST), has spoken about transfer plans for the upcoming window.

He says the change in the club's recruitment structure "doesn't affect planning".

"When it is done, it will make it easier, so that's it," he added.

"It doesn't affect [things] at the moment. When a sports director comes, it will be much more easy because for sure it will be someone to add something."

Norwich will hope to keep their play-off dream alive as they host Swansea on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Only a victory - and some luck with results elsewhere - will keep the Canaries in the running for a spot in May's play-offs.

Though should Hull gain any points from their trip to Charlton in the lunchtime kick-off, Norwich's season will be done and dusted before they can even touch the ball at Carrow Road.

• Norwich have only lost one of their last 10 home league games against Swansea (W6 D3), a 0-3 reverse in April 2023.

• After winning 2-1 in October, Swansea are looking for their first league double over Norwich City since the 2008-09 season.

• Norwich have won their last home game of the season in six of their last eight Championship campaigns (D1 L1), although one of the exceptions was a 2-2 draw with Swansea in 2023-24.

• Swansea have only won their last away league game in one of the last eight seasons (D3 L4), beating Reading 4-1 in 2019-20.

• In 2026, Norwich have won more Championship matches (14) than any other side. It's two more than they won in the entirety of 2025 (12).

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Youngster Sam Parker looks set to miss the final two games of Swansea City's season with a hamstring injury, but Josh Key could return to play some part at Norwich City on Saturday.

Parker has started Swansea's past four games – and impressed – at right-back, having been handed an opportunity as a result of injuries to Key and Ethan Galbraith.

But the 19-year-old, who previously spent a year out of action due to a hamstring issue, has been added to the injury list after picking up a problem during Tuesday's win at Queens Park Rangers.

"He felt discomfort on his hamstring, so let's see how it is," said Swansea boss Vitor Matos.

"It's the hard thing in sports, when you have an injury in these kind of moments, but we all love Sam.

"We cannot speak about what it is before having the proper diagnosis but whatever happens, I think the steps he did on the last games were really good."

Parker's injury means Joel Ward will come into contention to start on the right flank of defence as Swansea go in search of a third straight away win at in-form Norwich City on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Key has not played since mid-March because of a hip problem, but will travel to Carrow Road having returned to training last week, though Matos suggested the right-sided player will not be fit enough to start.

Winger Zeidane Inoussa remains on the sidelines after a long-term back issue, while Melker Widell and Jay Fulton are fit to face the Canaries despite picking up knocks during the QPR win.

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Flynn Downes has been handed a retrospective three-match ban following an incident in Southampton's win at Swansea City last weekend.

Former Swansea midfielder Downes will miss the Saints' FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City on Saturday as well as their final two regular-season Championship games, against Ipswich and Preston.

Downes, 27, was booked during the Swansea game after a clash with Melker Widell.

That incident came immediately his heavy challenge on Liam Cullen, with the FA saying Downes' actions were not seen by the match officials but constituted violent conduct.

"Flynn Downes admitted the charge against him and accepted the standard three-match penalty," the FA said.