Jenkins: Laudrup was never close to Swansea exit

Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins has refuted claims that manager Michael Laudrup was close to leaving the Premier League side.

The Dane’s future at the Liberty Stadium has come under scrutiny during the close-season, with reports suggesting that his relationship with Jenkins turned sour due to disagreements over the club’s transfer policy.

Laudrup has been linked with several roles following a season in which Swansea lifted the League Cup.

He was mentioned as a potential successor to David Moyes at Everton before that post was taken by Roberto Martinez.

However, Jenkins insists rumours of a departure are far from the truth.

“My relationship with Michael Laudrup has always been very, very good,” Jenkins said. “I don’t think that has ever been in doubt.

“There has been a lot of speculation over the summer, a lot of it when Michael was on holiday in America and in Denmark, and a lot of it was blown all out of proportion.

“There is always speculation when a club like us has been successful the season before, whether it’s players or managers. There always seems to be somebody willing to come along and try and poach them.

“That’s something we have said we have got to accept – that’s the type of club we are. It’s going to happen every summer and we have got to get used to it.

“We were not close to losing him, as far as I am concerned. You can lose a manager, or when transfer windows open, you can lose a player any day.

“Potentially, you can lose a manager in the space of a few days at any time at all. We’ve discussed this before that we are always prepared at our football club and if things change for whatever reason, and they are out of our control, we have got to deal with it and get on with it.”

Any reported bad blood between Laudrup and Jenkins is thought to have been stirred up by a perceived lack of movement in the transfer market by the Dane.

But the chairman is hopeful of bolstering the Welsh side’s attacking ranks with the signing of Vitesse Arnhem striker Wilfried Bony, who netted 31 goals in 30 Eredivisie games last season.

“We’ve put offers in in good faith to try to do the right deal we think is right for us as well,” he added.

“In some cases we’ve got to wait, for a variety of reasons. We’ve got a great squad of players in a settled environment and we are prepared to wait for the right player.

“We’re in no hurry. Yes, we’ve got a timescale of August to get a couple of players in and I’m sure we’ll do that by then.”