Swansea City takeover: Wealthy American duo become new owners at the Liberty Stadium as Swans journey continues

SWANSEA CITY will be under new ownership ahead of the upcoming season.

American businessmen Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan lead a consortium that now owns a 60 per cent stake in the club.

The duo have vast experience in running US Sports teams with Levien the Managing General Owner of MLS side DC United whilst Kaplan is the current co-executive chairman of the NBA franchise Memphis Grizzlies.

Swansea supporters trust will retain a 21 per cent shareholding in the club.

It is believed the deal struck with the club was in the region of £100million which includes plans to expand the Liberty Stadium and leave chairman Huw Jenkins to play a key role at the club.

In an open letter published on the club website, the owners revealed that it was the Premier League and the relationship between fans and club that attracted the duo to invest.

They said: “Quite simply we believe the Premier League is the greatest football league in the world.

“We love the passion and the physical style of play.

“We also wanted to be a part of a club that was at the very heart and soul of the community in which it plays. Over the course of a year we looked at a few clubs, but as we dug deeper, our focus always returned to the Swans.

“We were attracted to the team’s distinctive style of play and we loved the intensity of the relationship between the fans and the football team.”

In the open letter there was no mention of plans to invest in the squad but they did state their long-term goal.

“It is our intent and goal to be a long-term fixture in the Premier League that competes on a consistent basis with some of the finest teams in the world.”

Swansea will face Bristol Rovers in their third pre-season friendly on Saturday whilst the first Premier League match under the new owners will be away at Burnley.