Update emerges in Swansea City's move to appoint Vitor Matos - 'irresistible' claim made | OneFootball

Swansea City's potential new boss is enthralled by the opportunity at hand

Potential new Swansea City manager Vitor Matos is already extremely excited about taking the job.

After a slow start to the season, the past few weeks have been extremely hectic for the Swans, but perhaps not for the best reasons.

The Welsh outfit decided to part ways with manager Alan Sheehan after a poor run of form, having won just two of his last 11 matches in all competitions, before the November international break.

They looked set to appoint Hammarby boss Kim Hellberg as the man to lead them forward but had him snatched away by Middlesbrough at the last minute, which forced them to explore other avenues.

Maritimo manager Vitor Matos is now most likely to take over the vacant position at Swansea, an opportunity he had no intention of turning down.

Vitor Matos found Swansea City opportunity “irresistible”

The 37-year-old previously spent time in English football as part of Jürgen Klopp’s backroom staff at Liverpool and, despite coaching most recently in his home nation of Portugal, was keen to make a return to the UK.

According to Portuguese newspaper Record, the details of Swansea’s proposal to Matos aren’t yet known, but the coach is rumoured to find the job “irresistible”.

Maritimo reportedly want to keep their manager, but a €1m release clause in his contract means that it is no longer in their hands, with the Swans willing to pay that fee for Matos’ services.

Matos only took over as Maritimo boss in July 2025 and currently has them sitting third in the Portuguese second-tier, just two points behind league leaders Sporting CP B.

The 37-year-old would continue the theme of Swansea appointing younger managers, with his potential predecessor Sheehan only two years his senior.

Swansea City will hope Kim Hellberg rejection benefits them in the long-term

If Rob Edwards hadn’t decided to leave Middlesbrough for Wolves, it is more than likely that Hellberg would’ve become Swansea City’s next manager.

That isn’t how the situation has materialised, but the Swans will hope that this turns out to be for their benefit in the long term.

Matos is a young, exciting coach who has previously worked under a genius such as Klopp, which means that his arrival in South Wales will no doubt excite supporters.

If he proves to be anywhere near as successful as the former Liverpool boss, Swansea will be forever grateful that they didn’t end up appointing Hellberg and instead ended up with Matos.

There is still a long way to go until then, but the Swans’ faithful will be trying to view their new appointment in the most positive light possible.