Vitor Matos facing uncertain Swansea City situation - Birmingham City may be relieved | OneFootball

Manuel Benson's loan stint in South Wales hasn't gone to plan thus far

The 2025/26 season certainly hasn't gone according to script so far for those of a Swansea City persuasion.

At the beginning of the campaign, there was a renewed sense of hope and optimism in these parts of South Wales that the Swans could, once again, become a strong force in the division, as well as an exciting team to watch as they hoped to return to the 'Swansea way' of playing.

Alan Sheehan was, of course, handed his first full-time managerial role after impressing the club's American ownership consortium, which had been added to by the high-profile duo of Snoop Dogg and one-time Ballon d'Or winner, Luka Modrić, during what looked to be an exciting summer of change at face value.

Fast-forward towards the end of 2025, though, and it still remains unclear which direction the Welsh side are headed towards following the recent appointment of Jürgen Klopp's former Liverpool assistant, Vitor Matos.

Unsurprisingly, the appointment, as is always the case, has certainly divided opinion, with some hoping that his previous influence at Anfield may get a tune out of a new-look side low on confidence, whilst others would have preferred to see a much more household and experienced figure replace Sheehan, who was relieved of his duties last month.

One thing is for certain, though, and it's that Matos has plenty of big decisions to make in the upcoming January transfer window if Swansea are to drag themselves away from relegation danger.

A key decision, therefore, could be made on the immediate future of Burnley loanee, Manuel Benson, whose lack of desired impact at the Swansea.com Stadium may fill Birmingham City's management and supporters with a strong sense of relief following a late summer window transfer battle.

Benson, of course, is no stranger to Championship onlookers, having previously excelled at the level for the Clarets during their 101-point haul as they romped to the title under Vincent Kompany in 2022/23 after moving to Turf Moor from Standard Liege for €4m.

During his first season in East Lancashire, the Angolan international would post a tally of 11 goals - the majority of which turned out to be spectacular curling efforts - and three assists in just 33 league appearances, before struggling to make an impact in the following two seasons' worth of football in the Premier League and on the club's return to the Championship as a result of two major injury setbacks.

As such, several clubs were linked with a swoop for the 28-year-old as he attempts to rebuild his career within the final year of his Burnley contract, with said list including Birmingham and Swansea, before the latter struck a loan agreement on Deadline Day ahead of their divisional rivals.

After making his debut for the Swans in an 18-minute cameo against Millwall on September 27th, Benson made his only start for the club in all competitions thus far against Blackburn Rovers three days later, before not being in the squad for two games against Southampton and Queens Park Rangers in October, the latter of which he was an injury doubt for.

Yet, after seemingly returning to fitness, the wide man has played 55 minutes of football, and wasn't named as part of the squad for Matos' first game in charge against West Bromwich Albion last weekend, with the 37-year-old not ruling out the possibility of an early departure for Benson once he returns from African Cup of Nations duty next month.

"[That is] not yet decided," said Matos. "All the loan players are always a possibility in the transfer window, that's the truth.

"Some depends on the club, some depends on the players, some depends on the mother club, so it's a situation that we are still to see."

Birmingham City will be pleased they opted for Patrick Roberts over Manuel Benson

As previously mentioned, Blues were one of the many clubs pursuing a late deal for Benson, before pursuing a move for Sunderland's Patrick Roberts in the dying hours of the window.

At present, Chris Davies and Birmingham supporters remain continuously impressed with the ex-Manchester City man's performances at the heartbeat of a much-improved attacking output of late with one goal and two assists, as well as helping the West Midlands side put 14 goals past their past four opponents at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.

It is easy, of course, with hindsight to say that they will be pleased that a deal for Benson never materialised in B9, given his clear struggles for fitness, although at the time, such circumstances were not predicted to take place in South Wales.

However, Roberts' long-term future has already been discussed, and with Davies already having prior knowledge of the winger through connections at Celtic, it was clearly the right move for all parties.