Swansea City facing significant road block in pursuit of 37-year-old to replace Alan Sheehan | OneFootball

Kim Hellberg has re-emerged as a prime target for the Swans in their managerial search

Swansea City are reportedly facing a stumbling block in their aims of luring rising Swedish star Kim Hellberg to the Swansea.Com Stadium following the dismissal of Alan Sheehan earlier this week.

Sheehan had been given a fresh three-year contract with one game of last season remaining after an impressive interim spell following Luke Williams' departure in February. However, the club's American ownership consortium are now looking for the second manager or head coach of their tenure after the Swans' worst start to a season since they were relegated from the Premier League back in 2017/18.

Much like divisional rivals such as Middlesbrough, Southampton and Norwich City, the South Wales side are hoping for a swift resolution in the hunt for Sheehan's successor, with the Championship schedule currently in the thick of a final international break until late March, with many debating that such circumstances have also aided such a thought process despite the long-standing pressure that was placed on the former Republic of Ireland and Luton Town midfielder for some weeks.

Several names have been linked with the vacancy since the critical sack call was made on Tuesday afternoon. But, after previously being on the radar of the second-tier side, Hellberg, who has remained in charge of Swedish Allsvenskan outfit, Hammarby IF, ever since those aforementioned links, the 37-year-old has re-emerged as a prime target.

Reports that Swansea have made contact with the highly-rated manager have been backed up in due course. However, fresh reports coming from Hellberg's native Sweden have since claimed that the Championship side are facing a stumbling block, at present, in their pursuit.

Just hours after Sheehan's dismissal was made public earlier in the week, with Swansea currently finding themselves 18th in the Championship after 15 games played, a report from Wales Online revealed that Hellberg was one of the first names in the frame, and that "informal talks" between himself and members of the Welsh side's hierarchy had indeed taken place.

The Hammarby boss is believed to have impressed the Swans' board for some time, who felt obliged to hand Sheehan the permanent gig instead at the end of last season after a strong interim stint.

The aforementioned report states that a deal isn't expected to be imminent whilst Hellberg is also said to have monitored developments in South Wales whilst overseeing a second-place finish in the 2025 Allsvenskan, with Hammarby finishing 13 points behind underdog champions, Mjallby AIF.

Local journalist, Tom Coleman, later claimed that Hellberg is admired by other Championship sides. However, reports from Expressen and Fotbollskanalen in Sweden have outlined Swansea's current predicament when it comes to their pursuit of the former midfielder.

Expressen state that Swansea attempt to make a full approach for Hellberg after holding initial talks, and whilst Fotbollskanalen have backed up such developments, they claim that a buyout clause is proving a sticking point.

Hellberg's release clause is reportedly in the region of 2.5 and 3.5 million Swedish Kroner, which equates to between £201,991 and £282,787.

Kim Hellberg would hope to transform Swansea City's fortunes should he land South Wales gig

Hellberg's current vacancy with the Stockholm-based club is the third of his managerial career thus far, having managed at IF Sylvia and IFK Varnamo beforehand.

Within 70 matches in charge after taking over from Marti Cifuentes, who moved from Hammarby to Queens Park Rangers in late 2023, Hellberg has won 40 of those, boasting a win percentage of 57 percent.

Naturally, he and Swansea supporters would hope such fortunes could be emulated in Wales should he land the gig, with the Swans certainly having a strong blend of experienced, technically-gifted and highly-rated figures across all departments.

Should the club conclude their managerial search as soon as possible, a first game in charge would be against Bristol City at Ashton Gate on Saturday week.