Swansea City keen to appoint ex-Liverpool man as head coach after Kim Hellberg, Middlesbrough twist | OneFootball

Swansea City are in advanced talks with former Liverpool coach Vitor Matos to become their new head coach

Swansea City have entered advanced talks with former Liverpool coach Vitor Matos, with the 37-year-old Portuguese coach emerging as the favoured contender to take over in South Wales after the Swans missed out on Swedish boss Kim Hellberg to Middlesbrough.

It was reported by Pete O'Rourke via X on Tuesday morning that Swansea City are in advanced talks with Portuguese coach Vitor Matos to become their new head coach following the dismissal of Alan Sheehan.

With Hammarby boss Kim Hellberg ruling himself out of contention for the role in South Wales after reportedly accepting Middlesbrough's proposal over theirs, Swansea have been forced to look elsewhere, and have identified Matos as their preferred target.

Matos is currently the head coach of Liga Portugal 2 side Maritimo, having been appointed in that position in June 2025 in what is his first role as a head coach, but it now looks like he could be heading back to the British Isles once more, having spent time with Liverpool as an elite development coach between 2019 and 2024.

Swansea City are in advanced talks with Vitor Matos to become their new head coach amid Kim Hellberg rejection

Swansea have identified Matos as the person they believe can turn the club's form around and ultimately take them to the next level, with a top six finish this being the initial aim at the beginning of the campaign.

The Welsh outfit has struggled to find form under Irish boss Sheehan, with the club languishing in 18th place after 15 games, and after just one win in their last eight outings in all competitions, Sheehan was dismissed from his role at the start of the most recent international break.

Swansea had identified Hammarby's 37-year-old head coach, Kim Hellberg, as their main option to take charge at the Liberty Stadium, and it looked an almost foregone conclusion that he would be heading to South Wales, but Middlesbrough emerged late on to hand Hellberg a proposition of their own, which he has seemingly accepted.

This has left Swansea in a predicament where it looks almost certain they will be without a permanent manager for their next match away to Bristol City on Saturday, and then potentially for their clash at home to Derby County next Tuesday too.

They will hope to wrap up the Matos deal quickly to give the young Portuguese coach a chance to get his feet under the table and present his ideas to the players as soon as possible, with the club in real danger of falling into a relegation battle should results not be turned around sooner rather than later.

Vitor Matos has experience of working under Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool

The Swansea role will not be Matos' first time working in the British Isles, having spent five years as an elite development coach at Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp between 2019 and 2024.

Matos was recommended for the role by Pep Lijnders, who knew Matos from their time together in Portugal, with Lijnders describing him as 'the signing of the season' following his arrival in 2019.

Matos began his coaching career at an early age after, like many, realising he wasn't going to make it to a high level by playing the sport, so he started taking his UEFA coaching badges aged just 18 and would join Porto's coaching staff in 2011, primarily coaching between the Under-9s and Under-17s rank.

He'd spend two years in China with Shandong Luneng between 2017 and 2019 before joining Liverpool, and played a key role in the emergence of young players in the Reds squad, such as Curtis Jones, Neco Williams, and Rhys Williams.

Matos would follow Lijnders to RB Salzburg in May 2024, but would be dismissed the following December, and he would take up his first head coach role with Maritimo in July 2025, and currently has the side sitting in 3rd place in the second tier of Portugal after 11 games.

Should he be appointed at Swansea, fans of the club will be hoping he can work similar magic on the younger players in the squad such as Zeidane Inoussa, Ji-Sung Eom, Marko Stamenic, and Kaelan Casey, to name a few.