Could van Gaal make a Premier League return with Swansea City?

Posted Friday, December 22, 2017 by Foxsports.com

Swansea became the sixth Premier League club this season to fire their manager after Paul Clement paid the price for a return of just 12 points from 18 games.

Reports in the UK press have suggested that former Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal is among those being considered by basement boys Swansea - 18 months after he was relieved of his duties at Old Trafford.

But van Gaal is not the only option available for Swansea's rescue mission. Here are five possibilities to take over the reins at the Liberty Stadium.

Louis van Gaal

In two years at Manchester United, van Gaal spent a fortune on a distinctly mixed bag of new recruits, sold off reliable performers such as Jonny Evans and only had an FA Cup winners medal to show for it all.

But the 66-year-old's CV - which evidently attracted United in the first place - is an awesome one; league titles in Germany, Holland and Spain, a Champions League trophy and a semi-final spot in the World Cup.

There would be no massive transfer kitty available for van Gaal at Swansea. But after saying recently that he was looking for “revenge” on United by taking another Premier League job, there would be few bigger challenges to prove his credentials.

Frank De Boer

Another Dutchman in the frame, De Boer is the favourite with the bookmakers to replace Clement.

That comes as something of a shock, considering De Boer's spell in charge of Crystal Palace at the start of the season lasted just four Premier League games - all of which ended in defeat, all of which saw them fail to score a goal.

It wasn't the first time that he had been sacked so quickly either after he lasted a meagre 14 games in charge of Inter last season.

Slaven Bilic

For the first year of his tenure at West Ham, Bilic looked to be a real rising star of club management after bringing a fresh way of thinking to the Premier League.

But well before he was sacked by the Hammers in November, Bilic had looked beaten down by the constant troubles on the pitch and the speculation over his position.

Bilic at least has experience of the Premier League from his time at the London Stadium, yet has he had sufficient time away from the game to recharge his batteries?

Tony Pulis

Like Bilic and De Boer, Pulis is another manager who has found himself axed by a Premier League club this season after being fired by West Brom.

Reports in the UK have suggested that the vastly-experienced Welshman is not among the candidates that Swansea are considering.

But that seems a complete head-scratcher. Pulis has proved himself a master of rescuing struggling Premier League teams and turning them into sides that comfortably survived - doing just that at both West Brom and Crystal Palace.

Leon Britton

Long-serving Swansea midfielder Britton has been named caretaker boss for the short-term after earning a place on Clement's coaching staff earlier this season.

Considering Britton has no experience of management, it's a long shot for the 35-year-old to be appointed in the long-term and he doesn't seem to want it himself.

But Swansea appointed former manager Garry Monk despite minimal experience and if Britton can get a few positive results, perhaps the answer will lie under the club's nose.