Swansea City have made contact with Michael Appleton regarding him taking over at the Liberty Stadium this summer.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by Football Insider, who claim that, with Steve Cooper being linked with both the Crystal Palace and Fulham managerial positions, the Swans have made an approach to Lincoln City regarding the availability of their 45-year-old head coach.

Appleton had already been in talks with West Bromwich Albion this summer regarding the job at The Hawthorns, however, the Albion hierarchy ultimately decided they did not want to pay the compensation fee the Imps were demanding to allow the former Oxford United boss to leave the club.

Appleton could continue Cooper's legacy

While losing a manager who has secured consecutive top-six finishes in the Championship would undoubtedly be a huge blow for Jason Levien and Swansea City, should Cooper indeed move onto pastures new this summer, Appleton would appear to be a fantastic candidate to replace the 41-year-old boss.

Not only did Appleton match Cooper's achievement of reaching a play-off final with an unfancied Lincoln side last season, the 45-year-old also achieved the feat while putting an emphasis on the development of young players, with the Imps squad ranking as the third youngest in League One.

Indeed, since Appleton's arrival at Lincoln back in September of 2019, the Imps have seen the average age of their squad drop from 30 to 23, a decision that the progressive manager took in order to build a side capable of long term success, rather than prioritising immediate glory.

This is something that Cooper has also earned plaudits for, with it being reported that, due to the England U17 World Cup winner's reputation for developing youth prospects, Premier League clubs now offer Swansea their starlets on loan deals before putting them on the general market - something that has been reported to occur with Lincoln City too.

As such, while losing the services of Cooper is rightly a worry for Swansea fans this summer, if Levien goes on to land Appleton as his successor, it would very much seem as if the club will be in the hands of a perfect replacement for the Welshman, as the 45-year-old's philosophies would see him continue Cooper's fantastic work at the Liberty Stadium.

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