Swansea City dodged big Macaulay Langstaff transfer bullet - They wouldn't have thanked Luke Williams | OneFootball

Swansea City will be glad that former head coach Luke Williams was did not reunite with striker Macaulay Langstaff in South Wales.

Almost a year on from his exit from the club, Luke Williams' time as Swansea City head coach will still leave supporters wondering what could have been.

Williams made the move to Swansea in January 2024 after a hugely successful 18-month spell in charge of Notts County, during which he led them to promotion from the National League before departing with the club sitting towards the top of League Two.

After Williams saved them from relegation in the second half of the 2023-24 campaign, the Swans continued to make progress in the first part of last season, and the Welsh outfit sat just four points from the play-off places at the turn of the year.

However, after speculation emerged linking him with the vacant managerial position at West Bromwich Albion, Williams failed to adequately shut down the rumours, which had clearly had an unsettling impact on his squad, and, after a run of seven defeats in nine games saw his side dragged into relegation danger, he was sacked in February after just over a year at the helm.

While Williams did a decent job overall, the events towards the end of his tenure will leave a bitter taste in the mouths of many Swansea supporters, but they will at least be thankful that their former boss was unable to reunite with striker Macaulay Langstaff.

Luke Williams targeted Macaulay Langstaff at Swansea City after Notts County exploits

After his forgettable initial foray into management with Swindon Town, Williams really made a name for himself after taking over at Notts County in June 2022, and he had Langstaff to thank for much of his success.

Following a prolific spell with Gateshead in the National League North, Langstaff joined the Magpies two weeks before Williams' arrival for a fee of just £50,000, but the new manager clearly liked what he saw in the striker, and it was not long until they formed a strong relationship.

The signing of Langstaff was a risk for Notts given that he had previously spent most of his career in the regional leagues, but he enjoyed a stunning debut season at Meadow Lane as he scored a remarkable total of 41 goals in 47 games.

Among those goals, Langstaff hit nine doubles and netted three hat-tricks, but incredibly, despite helping the Magpies accumulate a total of 107 points during the regular season, it was not enough to secure the National League title, which was won by Wrexham with an even more impressive 111-point haul.

Langstaff and his Notts team-mates did eventually secure promotion after a nerve-shredding penalty shoot-out victory over Chesterfield in the play-off final at Wembley, and despite some questioning how he would perform in League Two, the striker continued his outstanding form the following season.

The 28-year-old scored 29 goals in 46 appearances for the Magpies in the 2023-24 season, but while the East Midlands outfit could only record a disappointing 14th-placed finish after a serious decline in form following Williams' move to Swansea, that tally was enough to earn him the Golden Boot award for League Two, and he also finished as the top scorer in the entire EFL.

Given Langstaff's exploits during his spell at Notts, interest from higher levels was inevitable, and it was little surprise when it was reported that Williams was keen to reunite with him at Swansea in the summer of 2024.

Swansea City will be relieved that Luke Williams did not reunite with Macaulay Langstaff

While Langstaff was said to be a name on Swansea's radar, it does not seem they ever made a formal bid for his services, and they were eventually beaten to his signature by one of their Championship rivals.

Langstaff got his dream move to the second tier when he departed Notts County to join Millwall, and with the Lions paying only £700,000 plus add-ons, many believed that fee was something of a bargain for a player who had scored 70 goals in 93 games over the previous two seasons, even if he was unproven at a higher level.

Millwall's deal for Langstaff attracted envy from supporters of many other Championship clubs, and particularly from the Swans faithful, who had assumed that it was a mere formality that the striker would follow his former manager to South Wales.

However, Swansea fans would surely have been feeling incredibly relieved at missing out on Langstaff after his nightmare debut season at The Den in which he scored just one goal and provided two assists in 36 appearances, with only 16 of those coming from the start.

It looked as though Langstaff could be set for a change in fortunes as he netted in the Lions' 2-1 victory at Norwich City on the opening day of this season, but that has done little to change manager Alex Neil's opinion on him, and he has been almost entirely limited to substitute appearances in the first half of the campaign, and that is even while Josh Coburn is sidelined with a long-term injury.

It is easy to see why Millwall took a gamble on Langstaff, and there were likely plenty of other Championship sides, including the Swans, who considered doing the same, but, unfortunately, it has become clear over the past 18 months that he is not at the level required for the division, and it seems like a matter of time before he is on the move again.

After failing to sign Langstaff last summer, Swansea instead brought in Zan Vipotnik on a free transfer from Bordeaux, and after a relatively underwhelming first season at the club, the Slovenia international is certainly beginning to find his feet, so there is no doubt that the Welsh outfit made the right choice in the end.