Nelson Jardim Expresses Hope for Swansea City’s Future Amid Ownership Transition

Newport County head coach Nelson Jardim has voiced his anticipation that Swansea City will return to a positive trajectory following a change in its ownership. The current majority owners, Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan, are in the process of divesting their shares in Swansea City. The buyers include existing shareholders Andy Coleman, Brett Cravatt, and Nigel Morris, as well as businessman Jason Cohen. Jardim maintained a lengthy professional connection with the Swans in a coaching capacity, initially joining the club in 2009 during Paulo Sousa’s tenure. He later returned to the club in 2017, serving first as a lead academy coach and subsequently as a first team coach under managers Francesco Guidolin, Paul Clement, and Carlos Carvahal. Jardim now expresses his hope that this shift in ownership, along with potential additional financial resources resulting from it, will fortify a club for which he continues to hold deep affection. Jardim stated, “The club is important for the city and the country and hopefully they will find that right track, because Swansea belongs to the Premier League and hopefully they will go back.” Jardim recounted his initial encounter with Levien and Kaplan, who acquired a 68% stake in Swansea, then a Premier League club, in 2016. He remarked, “I got to know them for the first time in Washington, during a pre-season when Guidolin was there. They were great to us, fantastic, with big projects for the club. They were very focussed and very good to us.” The Portuguese coach, Jardim, is currently dedicating his complete attention to his inaugural managerial position with Newport County, working under former Swansea City chairman Huw Jenkins. Nevertheless, he maintains profound sentiments for the Championship team, which he departed in 2020 to join Aitor Karanka’s Birmingham City. He expressed, “I don’t hide my feelings. The club is close to my heart because of my past good years there. “It is such a big club and and important club for me and my family.”