"Critically important" - Significant Swansea City ownership update emerges | OneFootball

Swansea's majority shareholders have agreed to sell their shares, which would mark the end of a turbulent era for the club.

Steve Kaplan and Jason Levien have agreed to sell their stake in Championship side Swansea City, with chairman Andy Coleman claiming it's "critically important" the club move on.

That is according to a report from The Athletic, who believe current chairman Andy Coleman will step up to the plate and take on a significant amount of those shares that will be sold.

The Swans have endured a turbulent time under Kaplan and Levien, who haven't been able to make their time at the Swansea.com Stadium a real success during their time in South Wales.

They first arrived in 2016 when the Welsh outfit were a Premier League club but they were unable to build on the foundations that had been put into place.

Instead, the Swans were relegated back to the Championship in 2018 and haven't been able to get themselves back to the top flight since then, with the club often cashing in on its best assets.

They were also unable to hold on to two talented managers, with Steve Cooper leaving voluntarily back in 2021 after reportedly becoming concerned about the direction of the club.

Cooper later went on to manage Nottingham Forest and guided them to promotion and is currently managing Leicester City in the top tier.

His replacement, Russell Martin, left the Swansea.com Stadium to make the move to Southampton and he managed to win promotion during his first season at St Mary's.

Right now, Swansea seem to be an average second-tier side, which is a clear decline from where they were when Kaplan and Levien purchased the club.

Swansea City set for takeover as Steve Kaplan and Jason Levien prepare to depart

It has been reported by The Athletic that Kaplan and Levien have agreed to sell their stake in the club, subject to EFL approval.

The majority of their shares will reportedly be bought out partly by current chairman Coleman, with American businessman Brett Cravatt also set to increase his shareholding in the club and Brit Nigel Morris purchasing some of Kaplan and Levien's shares.

Jason Cohen, who is a business associate of Cravatt, looks set to join the board too, as part of the club's US entity.

This US entity, containing Coleman, Cravatt and Cohen, is likely to have a shareholding of around 80%.

Morris, meanwhile, looks set to own more than 10% of the club, with the Supporters' Trust and smaller investors owning the remainder of the Swans.

In a statement given to The Athletic, Coleman confirmed this news that Kaplan and Levien were set to sell up, stating: "It is critically important for Swansea City to move on from the previous owners.

"I want to thank Brett Cravatt, Jason Cohen, Nigel Morris, and our partners for coming together to make that happen.

"Together we are bringing more than £20 million directly into the club. This gives us a great foundation to drive Swansea City forward."

Swansea City could benefit from a fresh start

Swansea fans will not be disappointed to see that Kaplan and Levien are prepared to sell up.

Quite frankly, the Swans have gone backwards since they arrived at the Swansea.com Stadium, and it could be argued that the club would have benefitted from them selling their shares earlier.

However, the fact they are set to sell up now should allow the Welsh outfit to make a fresh start, and that could help to take them to a new level.

It's unclear how much the prospective owners would be willing to spend during their time in charge, but judging by Coleman's statement, it seems as though they will be very different to the Swans' current owners.

Fans will be thinking that this is a good thing.