Latest news with #MelkerWidell
Wales Online
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Wales Online
Inside Swansea City's pre-season as new boys in the building and absences explained
Inside Swansea City's pre-season as new boys in the building and absences explained The Swans players are being put through their paces this week Josh Ginnelly and Jerry Yates are among those to have returned to pre-season training this week (Image: Swansea City ) Swansea City's players have returned to pre-season this week to be put through their paces ahead of the new campaign, and there's already been plenty to take in from it all. As is customary at this time of year, fitness is the main order of the day for the squad, who are under the guidance of a new look coaching team this summer, with Darren O'Dea joining up with Alan Sheehan's backroom staff following his move from Celtic. There have been some older faces too, with legends Alan Curtis and Leon Britton both dropping in on the squad this week to see how things are going as the Swans click their preparations for the new season into gear. Sign up to our Swansea City newsletter here. The players have already been seen going the SDS running test, a fitness routine that was originally introduced by UEFA for elite referees. It's designed to replicate the sort of high-intensity runs seen during a real match, with participants making a single run of 60m, before then doing two runs of 30m each and then finishing with another single 60m run. Hence the name, Single-Double-Single (SDS). The sort of heat seen this week clearly makes tests like this one far more of a challenge, with the likes of Josh Key, Josh Tymon and Zan Vipotnik all feeling the burn. Article continues below Content cannot be displayed without consent As too were some of the new boys. Ricardo Santos, for example, couldn't help but give out a exhausted puff of the cheeks by the end of it, while fellow new boys Bobby Wales, Melker Widell and Zeidane Inoussa could similarly be seen sweating it out before taking on some hydration in the Fairwood sunshine. Youngster Filip Lissah was could also be spotted in the background. The 20-year-old defender remains highly rated by insiders, but hasn't yet managed to make his mark on the first team set-up. Cameron Burgess, meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen, although his absence isn't any cause for concern. The Australian, who sealed a free transfer from Ipswich Town has been granted extra time off following his exploits for the Socceroos this summer. Melker Widell and Zeidane Inoussa have linked up with their new team-mates for the first time (Image: Swansea City ) The same goes for Ben Cabango, Ollie Cooper and Liam Cullen, all of whom were called up to the most recent Wales squad last month. Despite all the hard work, popular midfielder Goncalo Franco was all smiles on his return to south Wales. The Portuguese star enjoyed an impressive opening season in English football, one that has even attracted the interest of several sides on the continent. Eom Jisung, another still perhaps finding his feet in this league, will similarly be hoping to build on what felt and encouraging end to his first Championship campaign. Content cannot be displayed without consent As it turns out, the Korean has been working hard for the last couple of weeks now, focusing on his conditioning and agility, as well as his physicality, something that was arguably something of a weakness to his game last term. The Korean is clearly keen to add an explosive element to his game, and will be hoping his recent hard work gives him an edge as he bids to nail down a regular place in Sheehan's plans next season. Another man that's been doing plenty of individual work in the last few weeks is winger Josh Ginnelly. Well, not quite individual. Indeed, the 28-year-old was working alongside former team-mate and Swans hero Jamie Paterson last month in a bid to raise his sharpness ahead the next few weeks. The sight of Ginnelly involved in some gym work this week further suggests his injury struggles may, at long last, be in the rear-view mirror, and with one year left on his current deal, he may well feel this is a big season for him. It's understood he has been participating fully alongside the rest of the group. Content cannot be displayed without consent Ginnelly was snapped alongside another forgotten man in striker Jerry Yates, whose future at the club still feels uncertain ahead of the new season. Yates spent last term on loan with Derby County, and the club are likely to listen to offers over the coming weeks, although for now he has returned to be part of the group again. Andy Fisher, Cameron Congreve and Joel Cotterill are also back in the building following their own respective loan spells away. And there's plenty of hard work ahead for all of those in building. The squad are set to fly out to Spain later this month for a week-long training camp, which will culminate in a friendly with Stevenage at the Pinatar Arena on July 19. Leon Britton and Alan Curtis both dropped in on the squad this week (Image: Swansea City ) There are also likely to be a few behind-closed-doors encounters over the next few weeks, but supporters can still catch the Swans in action at Cheltenham Town on July 23 and at Exeter City on July 26. They are then poised to return to the Stadium to take on French side Lorient on August 2. It's very possible they may yet have a couple of new faces in before then, with the club still working hard on adding a couple more new faces over the coming weeks. After initially cooling their interest this summer, the City are believed to have once again put Leyton Orient's Ethan Galbraith on the table, although they haven't yet made any sort of concrete moves. Sign up to the Swansea City WhatsApp service to get breaking news and top stories sent to your phone. Gabi Kanichowsky is seemingly among the potential alternative options to have been sourced in recent weeks, although it's understood their interest remains tentative at this stage. Content cannot be displayed without consent Lewis O'Brien remains someone the club would love to bring back to the club following his sparkling loan spell last season, but the potential finances involved render a move unlikely. The same can probably said for striker Oli McBurnie, although interestingly a move hasn't yet been categorically ruled out for either player. There are likely to be a number of twists and turns before the start of the season and, as suggested earlier, there will surely be a couple of departures before the summer is out. Article continues below Finally, the club are still yet to offer up any suggestion on when their new kit will be released. Fans have already had the pleasure of viewing their heroes in a new training kit, with the Resin Co. recently announced as a new sponsor. However, there's no sign of the home or away kits as yet. For reference, the Swans had released last season's kit by now, so there could well be some details dropping very soon.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
New faces - and old - present as Swansea pre-season begins
Melker Widell and Zeidane Inoussa were among the players who reported to Swansea City's training base on Monday as Alan Sheehan's squad began preparations for the new Championship season. Swedish duo Widell and Inoussa were joined at Fairwood, Swansea's training ground, by fellow new recruits Ricardo Santos and Bobby Wales. Advertisement But centre-back Cameron Burgess, who joined from Ipswich Town earlier this month, has been given extra time off because he has been in international action with Australia over the summer. Burgess is set to arrive at Swansea at the end of the week alongside Wales trio Ollie Cooper, Liam Cullen and captain Ben Cabango, who are also returning to club duty a little late because of international commitments. As well as the new signings, there are some familiar faces who are back with the Swansea squad after loan spells away last season. Among those is striker Jerry Yates, who spent the last campaign at Derby County, as well as the likes of goalkeeper Andy Fisher and attacking midfielders Cameron Congreve and Joel Cotterill. Advertisement Swansea begin the new second-tier season with a trip to Middlesbrough on Saturday, 3 August. Their first official pre-season friendly will be against League One Stevenage in Spain on Saturday, 19 July.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
New faces - and old - present as Swansea pre-season begins
Melker Widell and Zeidane Inoussa were among the players who reported to Swansea City's training base on Monday as Alan Sheehan's squad began preparations for the new Championship duo Widell and Inoussa were joined at Fairwood, Swansea's training ground, by fellow new recruits Ricardo Santos and Bobby centre-back Cameron Burgess, who joined from Ipswich Town earlier this month, has been given extra time off because he has been in international action with Australia over the is set to arrive at Swansea at the end of the week alongside Wales trio Ollie Cooper, Liam Cullen and captain Ben Cabango, who are also returning to club duty a little late because of international well as the new signings, there are some familiar faces who are back with the Swansea squad after loan spells away last those is striker Jerry Yates, who spent the last campaign at Derby County, as well as the likes of goalkeeper Andy Fisher and attacking midfielders Cameron Congreve and Joel begin the new second-tier season with a trip to Middlesbrough on Saturday, 3 first official pre-season friendly will be against League One Stevenage in Spain on Saturday, 19 July.
Wales Online
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Wales Online
New Swansea City signing tipped for Premier League as fans told what to expect
New Swansea City signing tipped for Premier League as fans told what to expect The midfielder's move to Swansea is already hotly anticipated Melker Widell will join Swansea City this summer The season might be done and dusted, but for Swansea City, there is plenty of hard work ahead over the coming months. The summer transfer window hasn't always been the most pleasant of times for the Swans, who've stumbled their way through several underwhelming pre-season recruitment drives in recent years. However, there's a growing feeling that this one could be different, with the club making a couple of really promising early moves. Sign up to the Swansea City WhatsApp service to get breaking news and top stories sent to your phone The Swans have already sealed one capture in the form of Zeidane Inoussa, and are still expecting another in the form of 19-year-old forward Bobby Wales, who was recently named Kilmarnock's Young Player of the Year. But there's an incoming that has been in the pipeline for much, much longer. Melker Widell's impending arrival this summer is certainly a hotly-anticipated one. Indeed, Swans fans have been waiting the best part of four months already, and will have to wait just a little bit longer before he finally pulls on the shirt. Article continues below The midfielder has previously been tipped as a target for clubs in the Premier League, Bundesliga and Serie A, and Swansea felt signing him in January and then loaning him back to current side AaB Aalborg was the only way of edging them in front of the competition to get a deal done. He's now set to take his place in what's likely to be a new-look Swans midfield next term. Swansea have made no secret of the fact they'd like to have Nottingham Forest loanee Lewis O'Brien back for another season. But if a move were to happen, it would most likely be another loan, and would most likely not happen until the latter stages of the window. Both are very big ifs, and O'Brien's farewell message on social media has already been interpreted by many as a permanent one. It's a shame, as bringing him back would certainly make Swansea's squad better, regardless of what other business they may have lined up for the next few weeks. But as Bold's Kristian Porse points out, the incoming Widell could potentially soften the blow of losing him by bringing many of the same qualities to the table. "I think he's the best example of a number eight you can find," he tells WalesOnline. "He's a box-to-box midfielder. "He runs a lot and he's quite good in the duels. At some point in the season he was the player with the most duels won in the league. "He's a very dynamic player and he's probably more offensive than defensive in the way he plays. He's dangerous around the box and he has a really good right foot." Widell is the latest foreign import to make the move to SA1, and will hope to be one of the success stories from an international recruitment drive that's brought, it's fair to say, rather mixed success over the last few windows. "The Championship is a tough league and I've not seen many examples of players coming from the Danish league, going there and doing well," Porse adds. "I thinks he's capable of coping. It could be a good match because he has the ability to play that kind of football. But I have also seen other players with the same abilities and still they have struggled to suit the style. "It's a league that's very difficult to be clever in. There are so many games, so many teams, and there can be many duels. A lot of kick and rush. But I think he has the physicality to handle the duels, but he's also a player that wants to have the ball and create in the attacking areas." There might well be some intrigue back in Scandinavia around how Widell handles the rough and tumble of Championship football over the next few months, although it's a challenge the player himself is clearly looking forward to. "I feel I can be creative," Widell said shortly after signing. "I like to play with a lot of energy to try and take players on and play a nice style of football that people want to come to the stadium to watch. 'That combined with a lot of hard work, I hope it can be a good mixture. I try to create my own style as a player, and I like to think I have something good to offer." For now, though, there is a more pressing priority for the player and his team-mates: staying away from relegation. A 3-1 defeat to Viborg last time out has left AaB on the brink of falling out of the Danish Superliga with just two games to go. Widell's efforts have unsurprisingly been placed more firmly under the microscope in recent weeks. A single goal against Sönderjyske aside, there's a feeling the team's fortunes have coincided with a drop in form from the man many consider their star player. "AaB haven't been that good and they've struggled as a team," Porse explains. "I also think Melker has struggled a little bit in some games and now they are fighting to stay in the top flight. "He has to be one of those players that steps up because he is one of, if not the best player, and we haven't really seen that. That's perhaps one of the reasons why they're doing so badly right now. Sign up to our Swansea City newsletter here "I think sometimes he falls out of games, and you'll be sat there thinking 'where is he? Why haven't I noticed him yet?' "That could be because when teams play against Aalborg the other coaches do always prepare their teams to close down Melker because he is one of their best players. "He maybe has to be more consistent week in, week out, building on his performance so he never falls out of the game. His lowest barrier has to be higher." Finding an acceptable level of consistency will be integral to his hopes in the Championship, but it's important to remember that Widell's stock still remains high. In March, he was rubbing shoulders with some of the Premier League's biggest stars as he came off the bench to make his debut for Sweden. Article continues below "I think he could be a Premier League player," Porse concludes. "Maybe not on the same level as someone like Alexander Isak, who for me is probably the best striker in the league right now. "But I think he could be a player that's part of a team lower down the Premier League in the future." After such a strong end to the season, Swansea will be hoping they can be the ones to help deliver that dream next step.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Swans signing Widell makes Sweden debut
Swansea City's Melker Widell made his senior international debut on Tuesday as Sweden thumped Northern Ireland in Stockholm. Widell signed for Swansea in January, but returned to Danish club Aab Aalborg on loan for the rest of the 2024-25 season. The 22-year-old will arrive in Wales this summer as a full international having come on for the closing minutes of Sweden's 5-1 friendly win. Widell, an attacking midfielder or wide player, featured alongside the likes of Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak, Nottingham Forest's Anthony Elanga and Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof. He has signed a contract at Swansea which runs until 2029, with the Championship club paying a significant fee to secure his signature. The Swans had been keen for Widell to join up with them in January, but Aalborg would only agree to the transfer if Widell's return on loan was guaranteed.
