Swansea City seek replacement after significant off-field move

Swansea City have sacked sporting director Mark Allen after just eight months in the job and are searching for a replacement, according to The Telegraph’s John Percy. 

Allen was named the Swans’ sporting director on the 6th of August – five days after the arrival of manager Russell Martin – and was tasked with overseeing every football department within the Championship club.

He had first joined the club seven months earlier as Swansea’s new academy director but it appears his time at the Swansea.com Stadium has come to an end.

Percy has reported that Allen has been sacked and placed on gardening leave, with the search for a replacement now underway.

Allen has a wealth of experience within football and worked with some big-name clubs before joining the Swans.

He spent eight years as Manchester City’s director of academy, playing a role in the development of the likes of Phil Foden and Jadon Sancho, while he was Rangers’ director of football between 2017 and 2020 – a period in which he brought Steven Gerrard to the club.

The Verdict

This is a significant move from Swansea and appears to have come out of nowhere.

Things certainly seem to have been moving in the right direction at the Championship club in recent months, with some impressive recruitment done in the January window and Martin’s side rising up the table.

Allen has seemed to facilitate the growth under the new manager over the past eight months but we don’t know what has been going on behind the scenes.

With an important summer window ahead, it is vital that the search for his replacement is not dragged out.

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