Swansea City manager news: Kim Hellberg shock, Brendan Rodgers contention, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer talk | OneFootball

Swansea City are back to the drawing board in their search to replace Alan Sheehan as their manager; here's a round-up from the Swnasea.com Stadium.

With five days to go before they return to action following the international break, Swansea City are back to the drawing board in their search for a replacement following the sacking of Alan Sheehan.

Here's a round-up of the latest from the Swansea.com Stadium.

Following their worst start to a new season since they were last relegated from the Premier League in 2018, Swansea City are still looking for a new manager following their decision to relieve Alan Sheehan of his duties on the 12th November.

The timing of this decision was likely not coincidental. The upcoming international break gave them a little time to bring in a new manager ahead of their return to action at Ashton Gate against Bristol City on the 22nd November. But things are not going according to plan for the Swans, and with just five days left they remain managerless.

Here's a round-up of what's been going on at the Swansea.com Stadium, as Swansea City seek to get their 2025-26 season back on track.

Swansea gazumped by Middlesbrough over Swedish coach Kim Hellberg

Monday morning brought a nasty shock for Swansea City fans, with the news that the Swans had been gazumped over the first-choice to replace Sheehan.

The imminent appointment of the former Hammarby head coach Kim Hellberg had been considered to be more or less a done deal, but Swansea fans awoke at the start of the week only to find that they had been gazumped by another Championship club.

From out of the blue, journalist Anel Avdić of the Swedish news outlet SportExpressen reported on the social media platform X that Hellberg would be leaving the Swedish club, but that he'd be heading to Middlesbrough rather than Swansea.

He reported that, "Kim Hellberg is expected to complete his move to Middlesbrough on Monday, unless something unexpected occurs", and that, "The parties have agreed on a contract, and thus Swansea appears set to be turned down by the Swede."

It had been reported at the end of last week that Hellberg was in formal talks with Swansea City over the new position, and although another Swedish news outlet, Fotboll-Direkt, reported on Saturday that no contract was known to have been offered, it was widely considered to be a formality before his appointment was confirmed.

The news that Hellberg had decided upon Middlesbrough instead has now sent Swansea back to the drawing board, more than halfway through the international break.

The news that Hellberg has rejected Swansea in favour of Middlesbrough will have sent the senior management of the club scrambling for a replacement, and one name that will now be thrown back into the ring will be that of former Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers.

Rodgers stunned Scottish football by resigning as the manager of Celtic at the end of October after he fell out with the directors of the club, and Talksport subsequently reported that he was installed as one of the favourites to replace Alan Sheehan at the Swansea.com Stadium.

Brendan Rodgers was appointed as the Swansea manager in 2010, and his arrival ushered in the most successful spell in the history of the club. At the end of the end of his first season, the Swans were promoted to the top-flight for the first time since 1982-83 via the play-offs, and in his second he secured them an 11th-place finish in the Premier League.

He left the club at the end of the 2011-12 season to take the managerial position at Liverpool, but the foundations he built would serve the club well. Swansea won the League Cup in 2013 and ended up staying in the top-flight until 2018 before relegation back to the Championship. Since leaving Swansea, Rodgers won the FA Cup with Leicester City - the first time the club had ever done so - and the Scottish league four times with Celtic.

His reappointment would be an ambitious move for Swansea, but his return would likely improve the mood of a fan base who will be fuming over Kim Hellberg's decision to choose Middlesbrough over their club.

Former Manchester United legends could be candidates for the vacant Swansea position

Three former Manchester United stars could be among those considered for the vacant Swansea position following Hellberg's decision to choose Middlesbrough over Swansea. Wales Online reported last week that Michael Carrick could be under consideration for the role. Carrick was, ironically, sacked by Middlesbrough at the end of last season after Boro finished 10th in the Championship.

He's not the only former Manchester United player who could be back under consideration, either. Speaking to The Overlap podcast

last week, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer talked of how he could be open to returning to the Championship. There is a complication in that Solskjaer has previous connections to Swansea's bitter rivals Cardiff, but his interest in the position wouldn't be something that the Swans senior management would be unlikely to ignore.

Another name that could be thrown back into the ring with an Old Trafford connection could be Eric Ramsay. Ramsay, who spent nearly four years with the Swans as their Lead Professional Development Phase Coach, coaching their under-18s and under-21 teams, has been the head coach at MLS outfit Minnesota United since 2024.

He was identified as a potential replacement in a BBC report following Sheehan's sacking, though it should be added that at the time that Sheehan was appointed at the Swansea.com Stadium in February, he ruled himself out of contention to replace Luke Williams by telling the Minnesota Star-Tribune that the rumours linking him to the position were “a bit of smoke without fire.”