Nigel Rees to leave academy manager position as Swansea City

Academy manager Nigel Rees is to leave Swansea City after a 12-year spell at the club.

Rees has spent the last six-and-a-half years as the head figure of the club’s successful academy, which has produced a long line of players for the first team of both the Swans and Wales.

The 56-year-old, from Ynysmeudwy, initially started working at the academy in a part-time capacity as he helped coach in the club’s development centres.

After stepping up to become the academy’s operations manager and turning full-time in 2013, he took up the role of academy manager in January 2014.

During that time, significant progression has been made within the academy in terms of player development, coaching and facilities, with the club’s Landore site exclusively used by the academy.

Silverware came via a hugely successful 2016-17 campaign, which saw the under-23s win the Premier League 2 Division 2 title and lift the Premier League Cup.
More trophies arrived in the FAW Youth Cup, which saw the under-19s win ten titles in a row from 2010.

Rees’ time with the academy has also coincided with a number of players progressing into the Swans’ first-team, with graduates including the likes of current stars Connor Roberts, Ben Cabango, Jay Fulton, George Byers, Liam Cullen, Jordon Garrick and Steven Benda while Joe Rodon, Ben Davies (both Tottenham Hotspur), Oli McBurnie (Sheffield United) and Daniel James (Manchester United) were also developed in the system.

Rees is set to depart his role next month to seek new opportunities and challenges, while the club is now working hard on finding a suitable applicant to continue taking the academy forward.

Everyone at Swansea City thanks Nigel for his service, and wishes him well in his career.