Swansea City: January woes could be compounded after Coventry City news | OneFootball

It's been a dismal January for Swansea City for many reasons

The month isn't over yet, but it's already fair to say that January 2025 will not be remembered fondly by Swansea City supporters.

Swansea were coming into the new year off the back of two home wins against QPR and Luton Town which had supporters dreaming of a possible play-off push, and there was a genuine feel good factor around the club.

However, things have changed quickly in SA1, and Swansea will end January without a win, picking up just one point and are now closer to the relegation zone than they are to the play-offs.

It's not just the results that have been concerning though, and Swansea look set to lose captain Matt Grimes to Championship rivals Coventry City, as per the BBC - a shock move that puts the new owners in the spotlight just two months after taking over at the Swansea.com Stadium.

January 2025 has been a dismal month for Swansea City

If you had told Swansea City supporters at the end of December that they'd lose five of their six games in January, score just three goals and Grimes was set to leave for Coventry City, you would have been laughed at, because they seemed like a club on the up.

The unpopular previous owners, Steve Kaplan and Jason Levien, had been replaced by a new regime, the team were playing well and certainly exceeding expectations, and manager Luke Williams was hugely popular, so the Swansea.com Stadium was a good place to be.

This makes what has unfolded this month as frustrating as it is surprising, because it feels like Swansea have hit the self-destruct button.

It all started when Williams refused to play down links to the vacant West Brom job after a 4-0 defeat to Portsmouth on New Year's Day, and things just haven't felt the same in SA1 since.

You got the sense that things weren't right when Williams also told the media at Fratton Park that talks over a new deal for Harry Darling were going to be put on hold, just days after he stated he hoped he would follow Ben Cabango and put pen-to-paper on a new deal.

However, Swansea moved on and sealed a late point against West Brom three days later, but that's as good as it got for Williams' side this month.

A disappointing 3-0 FA Cup exit at the hands of Southampton wasn't a huge surprise, but it set the tone for their derby day defeat the following week, a game which saw Swansea lose 3-0 away to Cardiff and which really had alarm bells ringing.

In fairness, Swansea mustered up their best performance of the month in a 2-1 defeat to Sheffield United a couple of days later, a game they really should have had wrapped up before Harry Darling's red card, but the result just summed up their luck this month.

They finished the month with the worst of the lot, a 5-1 defeat to Norwich City at Carrow Road in a game where they were drawing 1-1 after 62 minutes, and it's become clear that there is something seriously wrong at the Swansea.com Stadium at the moment.

Three senior players have left the club and just one has come in, Hannes Delcroix on loan from Burnley, so it's quite plausible that they could end the window with a weaker squad than they started with, inconceivable when you consider the tiny squad at Williams' disposal.

It's been a miserable month for Swansea City, and it will get worse if Grimes completes a move to Coventry.

Losing Matt Grimes to Coventry City would be a total disaster for Swansea City

Anyone who watches the Championship on a regular basis will know that Grimes is a classy operator at this level, and he's attracted plenty of transfer interest before, but this time it looks like he will leave Swansea.

Since Swansea were relegated to the Championship in 2018, Grimes has missed just four games of Championship football, an incredible statistic that shows just how important he is.

He's been club captain since the start of the 2019/20 season, developing a reputation as one of the best central midfielders in the Championship, and while he doesn't always get the plaudits, every manager Swansea have had in recent years has sung his praises.

It felt like Grimes would never leave Swansea, and in the summer when Sheffield United were linked with him, many supporters shrugged it off, knowing he was unlikely to move, which makes this Coventry bombshell a tough one to take.

Coventry have got more money to spend and are more ambitious than Swansea, and that coupled with the chance to work with Frank Lampard makes them an attractive proposition for Grimes.

At 29, Grimes will know that his only chance to play Premier League football will come if he's promoted to the top-flight, and on recent evidence, Coventry have got a far better chance of winning promotion than Swansea.

It's tough to take for the Jack Army and there was never going to be a good time to lose Grimes, but given what they've been through this month, it probably couldn't have come at a worse time.