Swansea’s deadline day signings – potential game changers?

After weeks of speculation, Swansea City finally got their deals over the line on deadline day, adding both a striker and a winger to complete the squad for the remaining 42 Championship games this season.

He thrives in and around the penalty area, often finishing close-range chances, but he’s not limited to tap-ins.

Swans fans had long been desperate for a striker and had to wait until late on deadline day for the arrival of Celtic’s Adam Idah, believed to be for a fee of around £6m. Patience was tested further when Manuel Benson’s loan from Burnley wasn’t announced until almost 24 hours after the window had officially closed.

What the duo can bring to the team in 2025-26

Let’s start with striker, Adam Idah. Celtic fans are very critical of the striker and appear to be glad to see the back of him – but they should be best ignored.

It’s a fresh start for the Republic of Ireland international. He’s got a wealth of experience already at the age of just 24 as he enters into his peak years.

Champions’ League and SPL experience with Celtic and Championship experience with Norwich City – Idah won’t need any time to settle or get up to speed – he can hit the ground running when the Swans return from international duty.

Idah offers a different profile to Zan Vipotnik, who hasn’t quite earned Sheehan’s trust. Strong, mobile, and capable of holding off defenders, Idah can link play when dropping deep but also run in behind.

He thrives in and around the penalty area, often finishing close-range chances, but he’s not limited to tap-ins. His pace and pressing ability add another dimension, forcing errors from defenders and stretching back lines.

You can see in the clips below how Idah is capable in possession – has the physicality to hold off defenders as well as his pace. Dropping deep to help link-up play will also be a useful asset – something we’ve seen Vipotnik do in recent games.

Whilst Idah is a proper 9 and can lead from the top, we can also see from the video below that he can operate in wider areas. It’s highly unlikely he will this season, but it’s an option if Sheehan is ever struggling with injuries.

Sheehan likes his wide forwards in a 4-3-3 to stay wide but Vipotnik as a 9 with Idah on the left tucked in and Benson on the right is a frightening prospect for Championship defenders.

Idah, however, does possess good pace and has excellent physicality with the ability to force errors amongst opposition defenders by high intensity pressing.

Whilst a lot of his goals during his career so far tend to be from close range – in and around the six-yard box – he can still score different types of goals. He’s more than just a tap-in merchant or a striker that relies on headed goals from crosses.

He’s shown good ability running in behind, he’ll be a presence in the box – especially if Tymon can send in those excellent out-swinging crosses from the left.

Adam Idah’s Data Profile

Looking at his data profile below courtesy of Swans_Analytics on X – we can see some excellent qualities in his key attacking stats.

Goals scored, xG and xG per shot are up there within the best in the SPL. xG per shot suggests that a lot of his chances are in layman’s terms “easy chances” – chances you’d expect to score – like those 6-yard shots we mentioned earlier.

A few other things to note from the profile below is Idah doesn’t score many headed goals and isn’t involved much in the build-up to goals or chances.

A concern is the weakness of “Finishing” which is likely highlighted due to scoring fewer goals than his expected goals. He is below the average of goals he was expected to score based on the quality of the chances he had for Celtic in the SPL last season.

The best way to summarise this is with penalties. On average, 78% of penalties are scored. Let’s make it 4/5 or 8/10. Idah would be below this 8/10 average. Hopefully he can improve on that this season for Swansea City.

Swansea City #Swans completed the signing of #CelticFC striker Adam Idah – here's his @insightmrkt Player Profile from the 24-25 season in the #SPL pic.twitter.com/otdd78ywRC

— Swans Analytics (@SwansAnalytics) September 4, 2025

Swansea City have been defensively solid but lacking any real individual flair or invention. Benson is that type of player that this squad is crying out for.

Manuel Benson – a masterclass for Burnley in 22/23

Manuel Benson was unplayable during Burnley’s promotion-winning season under former boss Vincent Kompany in 2022/23.

With a wand of a left-foot, and the ability to easily cut inside from the right to get himself into shooting range was an absolute joy to watch.

If he doesn’t get within shooting range he can in-swing superb crosses and for that season – he could be the perfect player to mix with Adam Idah. There’s a big if though, if he can re-discover that stunning form from 22/23 following a long spell out with injury.

So far this season, Swansea City have been defensively solid but lacking any real individual flair or invention. Benson is that type of player that this squad is crying out for.

A player that can win a game all by himself, one that can cause all sorts of problems for opposition full-backs – giving opposition teams something to think about in terms how much they’re prepared to commit their wide-men forward knowing Benson is an excellent direct target in transition.

So far, Sheehan has asked both his wingers and full-backs to be very disciplined in their positioning. Ronald, for example, will drop and tuck inside to offer defensive cover but Benson may want to stay high and wide – ready for that outball.

Just look at his profile from that 22/23 season. Maxing out a lot of those key attacking metrics and a score of 94/100 speaks for itself.

#Swans also completed the deadline day loan signing of #BurnleyFC winger Manuel Benson.

He's been out with a long-term injury so his most recent available profile is from their 22/23 promotion-winning season in the #EFL #Championship @insightmrkt pic.twitter.com/pHgDfCVnmc

— Swans Analytics (@SwansAnalytics) September 4, 2025

He was the best in the league amongst attackers for Dribbles, goals, goals to xG ratio, touches in the box, shots, progressive runs, successful passes into the penalty area and passing accuracy.

Again, if he can stay fit and re-discover flashes of that form, he could be the ideal combination with Vipotnik or Idah. They could reap the rewards of Benson’s quality from wide, whether it’s from his teasing in-swinging crosses from wider positions or link-up play when he’s cutting inside and deciding not to shoot.

It’s a mouth-watering partnership on paper – one that could transform Swansea’s fortunes in the final third.

Swansea City currently sit at the bottom of the xG charts, and that will have to improve drastically if they are to challenge for a play-off place.

The additions of Benson and Idah could play a huge role in changing that, giving the side the extra quality and presence needed in the final third.