If captain Matt Grimes remains at the Liberty Stadium beyond the summer, Swansea City still look to have a decent starting lineup despite the loss of Andre Ayew.

A 4-3-1-2 formation looks like a particularly attractive option to Russell Martin at this stage - and could allow him to utilise his current squad’s best strengths.

Although previous manager Steve Cooper was successful with the Swans in his two years with the Championship side, guiding them to two top-six finishes, many supporters weren’t impressed with his style of play at times and this potential change could go a long way in freshening things up at the Liberty Stadium.

Not only would this new formation provide defensive solidity with Grimes, Jay Fulton and Korey Smith in the middle, but this protective barrier could allow the likes of Kyle Naughton and Jake Bidwell to advance further forward than they usually would when operating in a back four.

Right-back Connor Roberts could potentially come in for the former when he returns from his groin injury and would also slot into this sort of system well, with the Welshman liking to get forward and even scoring for his country against Turkey in the European Championships this summer.

By taking away the five-at-the-back system Cooper frequently adopted during his time in Wales, you can also allow Jamal Lowe to retain his striking partner whilst having a solid presence in the middle of the park.

With Andre Ayew’s goals in the past two seasons firing the Swans to two consecutive play-off finishes, the Ghanaian will be sorely missed and to fill the void he has left after departing the club, having two strikers up top will be necessary to try and provide a similar goalscoring threat during the upcoming season.

Lowe’s 14 Championship goals last season was a tidy return for the man who joined from Wigan Athletic last summer, but Ayew went even further than that, scoring 16 and bagging himself 31 league strikes in total in the previous two campaigns.

Summer signing Joel Piroe is the prime candidate to take his spot, but the Dutchman needs two things: patience from the new manager as he adapts to his first move to England and the creativity to thrive.

This is where the advanced midfielder in this 4-3-1-2 setup comes into play.

With this being 22-year-old Yan Dhanda’s specialist position, he could become the Swans’ first-choice player there, giving him more opportunities at the Liberty Stadium than he’s received in the past three years since joining from Liverpool.

The interest he generated from Belgian side Anderlecht earlier in the summer shows the potential he has, but he’s yet to fulfil that in Wales and it would be ideal if the Swans made this position one of their transfer priorities to address before the end of August.

 

 

Even if Dhanda goes on to impress during the next campaign, having a player there to challenge him for the spot would help the midfielder to maintain his performance levels - and you can never rule out the risk of injuries and suspensions either.

Another reason why they should invest in this position if they adopt a 4-3-1-2 formation is because of how important the role is to provide creativity to the two strikers.

Although the full-backs will provide Swansea with a different attacking option, they need to have multiple dimensions going forward to retain a sense of unpredictability and this is why someone like Dhanda would be vital.

He would be allowed to roam freely across the pitch with three solid midfielders behind him, but the pressure on him to establish himself as the Swans’ main creative figure would be huge.

If he fails to step up to the plate, the whole team will suffer. But they would have no obvious alternatives but to persist with him if they want to stick with the same system.

Recruiting an advanced midfielder to compete would go a long way in solving this problem, but the Swans seem reluctant to spend so fans will need to be realistic about who they could potentially go for.

Jamie Paterson is one potential target they could explore, with the experienced 29-year-old Championship option being released by Bristol City earlier in the summer.

He was reported to be on trial with Middlesbrough a couple of weeks ago, but Neil Warnock’s side are yet to tie him down to a deal and Russell Martin could take advantage of this by swooping in for his services.

His 13 goal contributions during the 2017/18 season shows what he can do when given a sufficient opportunity and the platform to shine, so he wouldn’t be a bad option for the Swans at all.

They could also explore the loan market for a hidden gem - but whichever route they decide to take - they need to add more creativity to their side to compensate for the loss of Andre Ayew.

Giving Yan Dhanda a big role in the first team and then investing in the team to provide competition in that advanced midfield position would help with that.