Swansea City head into the international break at the top of the Championship, having collected 17 points from a possible 24 in a start that has generated a feelgood factor around the club. Head coach Vitor Matos has repeatedly stressed that the table means little at this stage, but there are encouraging signs pointing to a potentially exciting campaign.
Strong transfer window
The club's recruitment team focused on adding strength in depth over the summer, particularly out wide and in central defence. New signings Moussa Yeo and Joseph Opoku have pushed for regular first-team football, while loaning out Zeidane Inoussa and Florian Bianchini, and the apparent willingness to sell Ronald, reflects the depth Matos now feels he has. Manchester City loanee Jeremy Monga has yet to feature.
Existing players have also responded. Eom Jisung is enjoying his best run of form in a Swans shirt, while Melker Widell has impressed in recent games. Stephen Welsh has slotted into defence, and Stephen Eustaquio has added a classy presence in midfield. Ten new arrivals came in over the summer, and while some need time to settle, Matos has real competition for places in nearly every area.
Greater threat from wide areas
Swansea have scored 13 goals in their opening eight league games, with a noticeable spread of scorers. At this stage last season, only four players had scored the team's nine goals, with Zan Vipotnik accounting for five. This time, seven players have scored, which is half the total for the entire last campaign. Vipotnik scored 22 league goals last season, with Adam Idah second on six. Idah has already scored half that number, and Vipotnik has two so far.
New signings Opoku and Yeo have two goals each, Eom has matched his total for all of last season, and Ronald has also chipped in. Improving the threat from wide areas was a key aim in the transfer window, and early signs are positive.
A solid defence
Swansea have kept four clean sheets, a record only matched by Lincoln City, and no team has conceded fewer than their six goals. This has been achieved without their first-choice defensive partnership: Cameron Burgess looks to be out for the season, and Ben Cabango was briefly sidelined with a heel injury. Youngster Filip Lissah, who spent last season on loan at Falkirk, has come in alongside Welsh, and the pair have not conceded a goal in the three games they played together.
Lissah is now expected to cover for the injured Josh Key at right-back, but the strength of the partnership has led some fans to question Cabango's automatic place in the side.
Fixing their travel sickness
Swansea's strong home form was the cornerstone of their recovery under Matos last season, with 30 points from 15 games at the Swansea.com Stadium. On the road, they took just 17 points from 45. This season, Saturday's win over Lincoln was their third away success in four games, with a 3-1 defeat to Southampton the only blemish. They remain unbeaten at home, conceding just one goal.
Matos, a student of Jurgen Klopp, has spoken about restoring the club's footballing identity. "Swansea always had a style," he said recently. "When you closed your eyes and you started thinking about Swansea and what that style is and what the DNA of the club is, you got some images in your mind. My view and my idea was always that we need to get as close to that as possible to again build back that DNA, to use that to try to link everyone properly, to create a connection between everyone at the club. We are on the way, we see moments of that."
Swansea currently have the third-highest possession stats in the league, and before Saturday's game they had a league-high of 65 high turnovers, resulting in 14 shots on goal. Only Norwich City recorded more press sequences. Whether it will be enough to deliver Premier League football remains uncertain, but for now it is getting Swans fans excited.
