Premier League: Relegation alarm bells ring at Swansea

Ben Davies is expected to leave Swansea for an eight-figure sum

The combination of a rookie boss and a long list of potential departures is bad news for Swansea...

Swansea's third Premier League campaign was undoubtedly their worst yet: they delivered their lowest finish (12th) and points haul (42) and enjoyed no consolatory cup success, being forced to sack a manager for the first time in a month shy of a decade.

Even 12th place and 42 points was flattering, the result of a late flourish in which they won three of their final four games against tenth-or-lower companions Newcastle, Aston Villa and Sunderland, earning 35-year-old Garry Monk the top job on a permanent basis.

The long-term Swans centre back hadn't fared too encouragingly prior to that, winning one of the previous nine league fixtures, so his suitability is still subject to debate. It doesn't help his cause that he could be about to lose several of former boss Michael Laudrup's star students.

Michu, the midfielder-forward crossbreed hailed as one of the greatest signings in Premier League history after his 2 million summer 2012 arrival was followed by 21 goals in 41 first-season starts, is about to join Napoli on a bewildering year-long loan deal.

Fan favourite left back Ben Davies is being doggedly pursued by Tottenham and Liverpool, chairman Huw Jenkins has confirmed interest in Dutch international Michel Vorm and reports in Wales claim that a 20 million bid for top scorer Wilfried Bony would trigger his sale. Pablo Hernandez is also off.

There are decent players coming in - chiefly Arsenal reserve keeper Lukasz Fabianski and France-capped Bafetimbi Gomis, with Ecuador winger Jefferson Montero possibly following - but none are comprehensively superior to the ones they seem to be replacing.

Changing too much in one window is a risky policy, particularly for a club whose main asset as they climbed the divisions was consistency in terms of ideology and most of the time playing staff too, while the apparent Spanish cull threatens to isolate the few who remain like Chico Flores.

Despite these concerns and the uncertainty over whether a rookie manager is capable of resolving them, Swansea are a chunky 5.95/1 to be relegated, with seven sides available at shorter prices.