Swansea City fans get big Vitor Matos update they've been waiting for | OneFootball

Swansea City are closing in on the appointment of their replacement for Alan Sheehan.

Maritimo have confirmed that Swansea City have agreed to pay the €1 million (£880,000) release clause in order to appoint Vitor Matos as their new manager.

The Portuguese coach has been linked with the Championship club in the weeks since Alan Sheehan was sacked by the club.

The 37-year-old previously worked as a coach at Liverpool under Jürgen Klopp, as well as an assistant at RB Salzburg alongside Pep Lijnders.

Matos took over his first managerial role with Maritimo in the summer, and has so far overseen a positive start to the season, with his side sitting third in the Portuguese second division.

Swansea will be hoping that he can make an immediate impact when he joins the team, with the new owners aiming for an improvement on where Sheehan left the side, which was in 18th place in the table.

Maritimo confirm Vitor Matos’ exit amid Swansea City talks

Maritimo have confirmed that Matos is set to make the switch to Swansea after the Welsh outfit agreed to pay the manager’s release clause of £880,000.

They’ve made it clear that there was nothing they could do to prevent his departure, and the club have wished the young coach all the best with the next role in his career.

“Thank you for everything, Victor Matos!” wrote Maritimo, via their Instagram account.

“Coach Vítor Matos will leave CS Maritimo to take over the technical command of Swansea City, after the Welsh club issued, this Friday, the termination clause worth €1 million (£880,000), a counter-match that guarantees Maritimo the respective financial compensation and before the which club could not do anything.

“The green-purple emblem expresses the most sincere gratitude for the professionalism, dedication and contribution made throughout the time he has served the Maritime Service.

“To Vítor Matos, we wish you the greatest personal and professional successes for your future.”

Swansea have struggled for consistent form this season under Sheehan, who oversaw four wins from his 15 league games in charge in 2025/26.

He was originally appointed as an interim coach in place of Luke Williams, but an impressive run of form led to the Irishman taking over on a permanent basis in April.

Sheehan lasted seven months in charge, with Matos now set to become his replacement.

Swansea will begin a busy period of fixtures now, with Darren O’Dea temporarily overseeing the start of this festive run of 11 games in six weeks before the new manager is officially appointed.

Swansea have wasted a lot of time with Vitor Matos appointment

It was unfortunate for Swansea that their original plan of hiring Kim Hellberg couldn’t come to pass, with the Swede set to make a move to Middlesbrough instead.

But the club still wasted precious time trying to negotiate a deal with Maritimo despite an unwillingness to let him leave from the Portuguese club's perspective.

They have ultimately just paid his release clause, and it means that he will not be in charge in time to lead the team through this weekend’s fixture against Bristol City, and potentially their Tuesday night clash with Derby County.

Failing to get a coach in by the end of the November international break does put Matos at a disadvantage, as he will now have very little time to work with the players in the coming weeks.