Real Madrid to sign Dele Alli £50m from Spurs?

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A statement for the south Wales club read: “Swansea City is delighted to announce Paul Clement as the club’s new head coach. The 44-year-old signed a two-and-a-half-year deal this afternoon after leaving his position as assistant manager at Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.

“Clement will be at tonight’s Premier League clash with Crystal Palace, although first team coach Alan Curtis is set to take charge of team selection

at Selhurst Park.”

Reading-born Clement, who previously served as Ancelotti’s assistant at Chelsea, Paris Saint‑Germain and Real Madrid, will take over with Swansea bottom of the table having endured a fourth successive Premier League defeat against Bournemouth on Saturday. They trail 17th-placed Palace by four points and have a goal difference of -23 compared to the south London club’s -6.

Swansea’s chairman Huw Jenkins told the club’s website: “We are delighted with the appointment. Paul has not only worked with some of Europe’s biggest football clubs, but also the very best players in the world.

“Swansea City’s strength over many years had been the quality of the football coached on the training field. That has always been at the forefront of our success. There is no doubt in my mind that Paul can not only help us regain that footballing belief, but also restore some much needed pride back into the football club.

“Everyone connected to the club is fully behind the appointment and we see this a typical Swansea City choice. It looks a good fit to get us back on track and provide one of the best young coaches in Europe with the chance to develop his own career and become a leading coach in his own right.”

The new manager will be joined at the club by coaches Nigel Gibbs and Karl Halabi, who arrive from Tottenham Hotspur. Gibbs steps in as Clement’s assistant coach from a post with Spurs’ academy, while Halabi has been named as head of physical performance.

Clement leaves his role in the Bundesliga to become Swansea’s third manager of the season and replaces Bob Bradley, who was sacked on 27 December after a record of two wins from 11 games. Bradley took over from Francesco Guidolin, who departed on 3 October after a poor start to the season.

Over at Bayern, Clement’s former post has been filled by Hermann Gerland, a longstanding member of the club’s coaching staff. The chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said of Clement: “Paul has been a professional, loyal and capable coach for us. We did not want to stand in his way of becoming a manager in the Premier League. We wish him all the best for the future.”