A message from the owners
Majority owners Steve Kaplan and Jason Levien discuss the club's recent dealings in the transfer market and pay tribute to a Swans stalwart in their programme notes ahead of today's Premier League fixture against Newcastle United.
We begin these notes by paying tribute to Gwilym Joseph who sadly passed away this summer.
Gwilym was the club’s honorary president, but he was much more than that title suggests.
He epitomised the soul of this football club – a dedicated and devoted Swansea City supporter and trusted executive who gave so much over his lifetime.
He was a driving force behind the creation of the Liberty Stadium as well as our superb training facilities at Fairwood and Landore – and these facilities stand in testament to his commitment to Swansea City.
When we first came to Swansea, Gwilym took us under his wing and welcomed us with true warmth.
He helped us to learn more about the history of this football club and what it means to the community.
He leant us books about the club and the community which we’ve read and enjoyed.
Gwilym Joseph was a gentleman, a wonderful and loving family man and a passionate supporter. He will be sorely missed by everybody at the club and certainly by us.
So much has happened since we were at the Liberty Stadium on the last day of the season. After finishing the second half of last season’s campaign with 29 points, our plan for our first full summer transfer window was to keep our best performers and make incremental improvements to the existing squad.
Our strategy shifted dramatically, however, when Gylfi Sigurdsson made it clear to us that he wanted to take on a new challenge and leave Swansea.
From that point forward, our focus was concentrated on making sure the club received full market value for him and to identify quality players we could bring in to improve the team.
Likewise, we were forced to shift when we were unable to sign Fernando Llorente on an improved contract extension and he decided he wanted to leave. We thank both Gylfi and Fernando for their service to the club and we wish them well.
Change can be difficult, but change can also create great opportunity. We believe that the players we’ve brought in are a statement of this club's intent and ambitions.
The ultimate test of the quality we have brought in will be determined on the pitch, but it should be exciting to watch two of the absolute brightest young talents in European football play for our club this season.
Most importantly, this window underlined the effectiveness of our collective approach to recruitment.
This was a true team effort which took advantage of Paul Clement’s contacts across Europe, our scouting and analytics team working hand in glove to access talent, plus Huw Jenkins leading the charge and working tirelessly to get the deals over the line on the best possible terms.
Communication between all parties was excellent. We didn't always agree, but we listened to each other with respect and an open mind. And while we believe we have done some good business this window, none of us is satisfied.
We want more and we will be relentless in our determination to continually improve.
We end this window with the club in sound financial shape. Moving forward we have the financial flexibility to take action and continue to improve the club in upcoming windows.
For now, though, we are looking forward to building on a solid start from the first three games and watching the new players – albeit with one familiar face among them – settling in and taking the club forward on the pitch.
Enjoy the game.
Steve and Jason
