Ryan Davies to return to Swansea City as academy manager
Swansea City is delighted to confirm the appointment of Ryan Davies as the club’s new academy manager.
Davies returns to the club having held several roles within the academy set-up between 2012 and 2024, including head of coaching and interim academy manager.
During that time he also played a part in the development of players such as current men’s first-team captain Ben Cabango, Ollie Cooper, Liam Cullen, Connor Roberts and Josh Sheehan.
His passion for Swansea City, and detailed and in-depth knowledge of the club and the different elements of its player development pathway made Davies the outstanding candidate for the position.
He will formally take up his role on August 1, with football operations and administration manager Rebecca Gigg assuming academy manager responsibilities in the interim.
Davies said: “I am delighted and extremely proud to be given the opportunity to return to the club and lead Swansea City’s academy.
“Being able to represent my hometown club and local community is a huge privilege, and witnessing the growth of the academy over the last decade and more has been incredible.
“As a club we have a proud track record of producing talented young players capable of featuring at senior club and international levels, and that is one we are very keen to continue.
“After speaking to (chief executive) Tom Gorringe and (director of football) Richard Montague, and hearing their vision, it was an easy decision to rejoin a club that is so close to my heart.
“I cannot wait to get started and try and continue to drive our academy, and ensure our supporters continue to be able to chant ‘he’s one of our own’ by producing talent that can thrive at first-team level.”
Chief executive Tom Gorringe added: “We are delighted to be able to welcome Ryan back to Swansea City.
“During our conversations with him his tremendous passion for this club, and particularly our academy, shone through.
“He boasts a wide range of experiences from his previous time with us, and that means he has a great perspective on how the academy operates.
“Ryan was the outstanding candidate for this role and it gives us great pleasure to bring him home. We look forward to him joining us and getting down to work.
“I would also like to place on record our thanks to Rebecca Gigg, another person who knows our club and academy inside out, for taking on leadership of the academy in the interim.”
Having gained experience as a performance analyst at Colchester United, Davies first joined the Swans as a sports science intern at the academy, working from under-nine to under-18 level.
He subsequently took on a part-time role before becoming a full-time Youth Development Phase coach, working closely with former academy manager and current Wales Women’s assistant Jon Grey, and current Swans under-21 coach Anthony Wright.
He was promoted to Lead Youth Development Phase coach, before becoming assistant under-18s coach and then assistant head of coaching.
When Grey became academy manager, Davies assumed head of coaching responsibilities and had a spell as interim academy manager before leaving the club in 2024.
He has since held roles in recruitment and the NHS, and now returns to the Swans.