Swansea City are facing a crucial period now ahead of the start of the new Championship season with the Swans needing to sort out a new manager as soon as possible.

Steve Cooper finally departed the club last week and it has now been reported by the Daily Mail that Fulham’s potential swoop for midfielder Matt Grimes was one of the key reasons behind his exit from the club.

That came after he had been on the radars of both Crystal Palace and Fulham in terms of their managerial targets this summer before they opted for other managers.

It had been reported that QPR assistant manager John Eustace was the leading contender for the managerial role at Swansea to replace Cooper. However, it is believed now that he has turned down the chance to take over at the Liberty Stadium after holding talks with the Swans.

So, with Swansea still on the lookout for a new manager, we take a look at THREE Eustace alternatives that need to eyeing ASAP…

Michael Flynn

One manager who should be on Swansea’s radar now that Eustace has turned them down is Newport County’s Michael Flynn. The 40-year-old has performed an excellent job on the whole with the League Two side in the past few campaigns and he is deserving of the chance to step up to a higher level and a move to the Swans would surely appeal for him.

Flynn took over a Newport side that looked to be certain for relegation to the National League when he first got the job during the 2016/17 campaign. However, since then he has led them to a great escape, to cup success against the likes of Leeds United, Leicester City, Middlesbrough and of course even Swansea and also guided them to play-off final last term.

The 40-year-old has installed a winning mentality at Newport that could be very useful to the Swans and their hopes of recovering from losing Cooper and still being a force in the Championship once again.

While he is also used to working on a budget and that should mean that he is able to replace key players like Grimes without overspending to do so.

The only drawbacks would be the perceived style of play which would be a little more direct than what Cooper has been implementing and also the lack of Championship experience he has. However, Eustace did not have any managerial experience at all so the Swans are willing give managers opportunities.

David Artell

Another manager lower down the Football League pyramid that Swansea should take a look at is Crew Alexandra boss David Artell. He has managed to perform an excellent job during his time in charge of the League One side and gets the best out of young talents and improves players so that they can be sold on for a large profit.

The likes of Perr Ng and Harry Pickering have been developed by Artell at Crewe over the last few years and have since been sold on to Championship clubs. That means that he fits in well with Swansea’s model of improving players and then cashing in on them that they have been operating with since their return to the Championship in 2018.

The Crewe boss also has experience winning promotion having guided his side to promotion from League Two during the 2019/20 campaign. He was then able to establish them comfortably back in League One last season. Those achievements should not be overlooked by Swansea and suggest that he could be exactly what they need right now.

John Terry

Closing off this list of potential Eustace alternatives that Swansea should be considering is John Terry. The Aston Villa coach is someone like the QPR coach that is looking to get his first experience in management having racked up a lot of positive experiences during his time alongside Dean Smith at Villa Park. That has even seen him play a key role in getting Villa back into the Premier League.

Terry is obviously the sort of character in the game that would generate instant respect from Swansea’s squad and he might be able to arrive with fresh ideas to transform the style of play and the way in which the Swans approach matches next term. That is in many respects what a lot of supporters were asking for even with Cooper taking them to the brink of promotion.

The drawback here would obviously be Terry’s lack of managerial experience, but that is something that does not deter the Swans from making the right appointment with them having taken a chance on Cooper and also with them having been willing do the same with Eustace.