Swansea City just need to activate the release clause in Michael Duff’s Barnsley contract and the deal is done.That’s the information circulating tonight after discussions over the past twenty four hours between Swansea and Barnsley.

It is being reported the fee for Duff’s services is in the region of half a million pounds which does go against the Swans desire at the start of their new manager search some weeks ago. However it seems the Swans have stuck to their principles again of recruiting their fourth British manager since relegation to the championship. ‘Young and promising’ is the preferred mantra for the Swans and it has been since Graham Potter, Steve Cooper and Russell Martin all took the head coach’s role at the club.

Swans manager report here –> ⚽️ UK Based Manager Search

We learned that Duff was ‘extremely interested’ in the Swans job with connections to this website confirming Michael Duff willing to talk over the past five days. Since then the Swans have approached the Tykes and it seems with reports now fairly consistent that those talks have been successful. However, Swansea City do have a track record of drawing out these type of discussions to the enth degree which has been the clubs trade mark over recent times. Russell Martin is still not officially the new Southampton coach and is still referenced by English Football League as Swansea City head coach as are the four staff at the club he wants with him at St Mary’s. That has been an issue for four weeks and counting.

Michael Duff interested in Swans job here –> ⚽️ Duff Approach !

By their own admission Swansea City don’t manage timeframes that well after Jake Silverstein made comment on the last January transfer window stating the club needs its own timeframe in place to avoid last minute problems. If successful on this occasion after approaches to one very respected coach at a higher level than the Swans - and speculation that out of work Chris Davies and Plymouth boss Steven Schumacher had turned the Swans down, this needs concluding quickly. Davies we know had an ‘informal’ chat with the majority ownership which didn’t end positively and Schumacher was never spoken to officially either. Regardless Michael Duff couldn’t be closer than he has been before in taking the reins at Swansea City, it just needs financially finalising and the Swans get their man. Of course Russell Martin and his backroom staff are yet to be confirmed as leaving, but the feeling is this could be a week of announcements regards comings and goings.

As for who else Duff wants to come with him that’s a thought for another day, but we have covered the likely candidates already on this site.

Who are Duff’s right hand men here –> ⚽️ Who could come with Duff to Swansea ?

As many of our readers know we always include a good trail of information to all our reports, it adds context to the timeline for events like these. We have three features linked to this one. And there is no greater time stamp than the internet. And on that may we say a huge thanks to the endless emails we receive at Swansea Independent and via DM’s on social media. They are so encouraging and it’s really nice to read that the more thoughtful and pragmatic Swans fan want a site that goes deeper to pass on the information surrounding a subject we cover. Thanks so much, it’s very humbling.

Photograph licensed from Reuters