Garry Monk delighted with Swans deal

Swansea City manager Garry Monk is looking to build on last season and push on after signing a new three-year contract at the Welsh club.

The 36-year-old led the Swans to eighth in the Premier League last season with a record points tally and the Englishman has now been rewarded with an improved deal.

His managerial performance was considerable given the club lost top-scorer Wilfried Bony to Manchester City in January for an initial fee of £25million.

Swansea will be hoping to carry the momentum from the previous campaign into the next one and Monk has already been busy adding to his squad in the summer transfer window.

Ghana forward Andre Ayew has arrived from Marseille and is joined by Portuguese striker Eder from Sporting Braga, French defender Franck Tabanou from St-Etienne and Swedish goalkeeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt from Dutch side Heerenveen.

The four signings have added considerable strength in depth to the squad and Monk is looking forward to getting the 2015-16 season underway after committing his future to the club.

“I’m extremely pleased to sign the new deal,” he said. “We’ve been talking for a while, mostly over the finer details, so I’m glad it’s all finalised heading into a new and very important season for the club.

“Last season was fantastic and I learned a lot to take forward. But even with the success we all had, from the staff to the players, you can never afford to stand still.

“It’s been a happy and productive 18 months so far for me as manager. I believe we have put good foundations in place, but now it’s vital we build on that and push forward.”

Swansea open their campaign away at defending champions Chelsea on August 8 and the hosts are favourites at 1.30 to clinch all three points, with the draw at 4.75 and the visitors outsiders at 11.00.