How Jurgen Klopp described Vitor Matos will excite Swansea City fans as talks advance | OneFootball

The Swans' prime target has received some extreme compliments from his ex-Liverpool colleague over time

Swansea City could soon be ending their managerial search, with it being reported that talks with Maritimo boss, Vitor Matos, are accelerating.

The Swans parted company with Alan Sheehan last week following a 4-1 defeat to Ipswich Town in South Wales, with the Irishman lasting less than seven months in the permanent hotseat after an initially impressive interim period following the dismissal of Luke Williams back in February.

A plethora of names have been linked with or mentioned by several reporters and pundits as a result, although it initially looked as though Kim Hellberg would be primed to join the Championship side after previously being admired by the Swansea hierarchy ahead of them offering the aforementioned Sheehan the permanent gig back in April.

It has since emerged that the Swede is set to join divisional rivals, Middlesbrough, in a deal set to be finalised imminently, leaving the former Liverpool coach as Swansea's prime target at this moment in time, with Football Insider claiming that talks between the two parties are at an advanced stage.

Matos' current employers reside in third place in the Portuguese LigaPro at present. Maritimo have taken 20 points from their opening 11 games, and they are just two points behind Sporting CP B, who topped the table heading into the November international break.

It's fair to say that the 37-year-old is best known for his work alongside Jürgen Klopp and Pep Lijnders at Anfield, having been installed as part of the German's successful coaching setup in October 2019, just months before the Reds won their first-ever Premier League title, their 20th overall and a first league-winning campaign in 30 years.

As such, Klopp's previous compliments towards the Portuguese will only excite those in Wales ahead of his potential appointment.

Jürgen Klopp described Vitor Matos' work as "incredible" in 2020 interview

Throughout an almost five-year period on Merseyside, Matos was largely responsible for being a coaching link between the first-team and academy setup.

During this period, the likes of Rhys Williams, James McConnell, Conor Bradley, Caoimhin Kelleher, Jayden Danns, current Derby County loanee Bobby Clark and West Brom centre-back, Nat Phillips, were among the names to forge their way into Klopp's long-term thinking as a result.

It must be said that the 2020/21 season was an injury-ravaged title defence for Liverpool, with the likes of Williams and Phillips having to step into the first-team fold due to injuries, leaving Klopp to heap major praise on Matos for his work.

"We employed Vitor, not because the academy wasn't working as well as we wished but because we needed a connecting point," he said.

"Pep [Lijnders] was doing that too but first-team coach is a big job; we needed someone in that development coach role who knows both sides and Vitor is doing an incredible job. When we had our first struggle with the centre-halves, he suggested Rhys. It helps to have someone with a proper eye on the academy and someone who knows what we need in a crisis. Yes, we need players but what kind of players?

"He's working really closely with all the academy; from U16 upwards, we're really close but we can't be that close with the U14s or U12s for example. The academy coaches know what we expect them to do but it's not always just about playing our way," Klopp stated.

"We want to give the boys a wide education. We want to know that they will be able to react later in their careers to different scenarios. Vitor is really important for the one-to-one relationships. Yes, up in the first team, we think we're open and pretty friendly but it can take time for someone to really feel like they can show themselves.

"I'm not able to have those long talks each day with all of the boys. There will be a moment when it happens but it's Vitor's job to make sure that they know what to expect, that they know we think they're good enough, that they understand the opportunity without feeling pressure," the German explained.

Jurgen Klopp's glowing Vitor Matos verdict will excite Swansea City fans after Alan Sheehan criticism

Having such a glowing reference from one of modern football's master tacticians isn't a coincidence, with Matos clearly implementing a successful style at Maritimo currently, as they look to earn promotion to Liga Portugal.

However, such prospects may be significantly hampered if the 37-year-old was attracted to South Wales, and it would be Swansea supporters who would hope to note a major change in direction as to how their side sets up on the pitch.

There's no doubting the nice blend of flair, youthfulness and experience throughout the squad, with a major criticism of Sheehan's being that the Welsh outfit lacked any form of identity in the latter weeks of his tenure.

Having been a part of a coaching setup which forged the exact opposite at Anfield, Swans fans would expect to see Matos provide a template for dominant performances through ball retention and an intense press which opponents struggle to bypass.