Josh Marsh has a significant job on his hands having landed the plum role of head of football operations at Swansea City.
The 30-year-old was drafted in from Huddersfield Town following the exit of sporting director Mark Allen in April. And - working in tandem with head coach Russell Martin and chief executive Julian Winter - he is now set to play a key role in ensuring the Swans can be as competitive as possible on the pitch while operating in a sustainable manner.
Marsh will oversee the football department as a whole, although scouting and recruitment will be his key responsibilities. He has significant experience in those categories having held various roles with the likes of Huddersfield, Wolves and Southampton.
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As has been the case since relegation from the Premier League in 2018, funds are tight at present. Indeed, a recent report from Swiss Ramble showed Swansea spent just £8m on transfers in their first three seasons back in the Championship having splashed out an eye-watering £120m across their two most recent top-flight campaigns.
As a result, Marsh admits there's is a need to be proactive in the transfer market, but, crucially, that those on the ground at Fairwood need to be backed by the owners. "From my conversations with the club throughout this process, that principle of trading and trying to be proactive and think outside the box and not just do normal Championship transfer activity is something the club are passionate about," Marsh told the club's official website.
"There's identifying talent, there's then being brave and being proactive in terms of your decision making and being backed internally to bring the player in."
Swansea missed out on signing players including Matt O'Riley and Ryan Longman in the January transfer window while, this summer, they have already been beaten to the capture of free agent Kal Naismith who was swiftly snapped up by Bristol City following his release from Luton Town.
It proves the need for a different model if the powers that be are not willing or able to fund multiple low seven-figure signings in the same window like those of Joel Piroe, Michael Obafemi and Flynn Downes last year. And Marsh cited Wales international Sorba Thomas - who was brought in to his former club Huddersfield from non-league outfit Boreham Wood in January 2021 - as the perfect blueprint of how things can be done differently.
"Sorba's a great example," explained Marsh. "The expectation in terms of how quickly he was going to be a prominent player in the first team was correct. He came in, he had six months with the B team, integrated in terms of our methods, the level of everything, with all due respect, there's a big jump from National League to Championship.
"Then the following pre-season he comes in and flies, he had a really positive season. There's the identification, then there's the recruitment piece and how you set-up across all departments and the support you give the player when he's in the building."
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As for his first summer in south Wales, Marsh is confident that it can be far less chaotic than the last time around given that the current coaching staff already have a full season under their belts. Head coach Martin was appointed as boss just six days before his debut campaign at the club, leaving little time to implement his methods before a ball was kicked while it also meant the Swans were playing catch-up in the transfer market.
"Russell has had that period of time at the club now," admitted Marsh. "The players and the staff will be immersed within that and have an understanding of what Russell and his team want in place.
"That puts the team in a really good place going into next season and the summer. I think it's just looking at the group and trying to identify some key things that we can try to help improve going into next season."
Swansea have a rich history of producing their own talent, with Oli McBurnie, Joe Allen, Daniel James, Connor Roberts, Joe Rodon and Ben Davies among those to earn big moves away from the club in the last decade. More recently, the likes of Cameron Congreve, Azeem Abdulai and Joel Cotterill have been banging on the door of the first team as they bid to make the step up from the academy to senior level.
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Ultimately, given their financial situation, Swansea will continue to need Under-23s boss Kris O'Leary to develop players for Martin's side. "There's a good history of success in that area at the club," said Marsh on the Swans' production line.
"I think for the model the club wants in place, it's imperative that young players do get through. You've got to get your identification and recruitment right, but then you've got to have the right things in place across all departments to develop players. You've also got to provide opportunities, you can't block pathways. So it's just a balance of all of those things."
The Swans have been identifying transfer targets for several months, and Marsh will no doubt use his own contacts in the game to help the club in their pursuit of players. Time will tell whether or not the appointment of Marsh proves to be a success or not, but, the early signs show that Swansea have a man who is fully understanding of the scale of the task that lies ahead of him.
