Swansea City are on the verge of appointing Crystal Palace assistant sporting director Ben Stevens as their new sporting director, ending a recruitment search that has dragged on since Richard Montague’s surprise departure last September. Stevens has agreed to leave Selhurst Park and is likely to be confirmed in his new role by the end of the week. He will hold a different title to Montague, but the role is set to cover a similar scope of work.
Stevens arrived at Palace in January 2015 after four years in performance analysis at Newcastle United, where he had risen to head of performance analysis. He moved into recruitment at Selhurst Park and was promoted to assistant sporting director in 2024, the same year Dougie Freedman signed a new contract as the club’s sporting director. Stevens stepped up again when Freedman left for Saudi Arabian club Al-Diriyah in 2025, filling in for the ex-Scotland striker through the transition. The backroom operation he helped run won an FA Cup, a Community Shield, and a UEFA Conference League title inside 12 months.
A Decade at Palace, Front Row to the Trophy Haul
Stevens has spent more than a decade at Selhurst Park, having joined Crystal Palace in January 2015. He arrived as head of performance analysis and moved into a recruitment-focused role that put him at the heart of Palace’s transfer strategy. His elevation to assistant sporting director in 2024 has coincided with what Wales Online described as the most successful period in the club’s history. The promotion came shortly before Palace’s run of three major trophies in 12 months began. Palace had never lifted a senior European trophy before this stretch.
That run has been hard to miss. Palace won the FA Cup last season, lifted the Community Shield at the start of the current campaign, and capped it with a 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final in Leipzig. Stevens has been part of the backroom operation through every one of those wins.
Stevens’s path from head of performance analysis to assistant sporting director has put him at the centre of Palace’s transfer work. A 2024 TGG report on his promotion noted that he was being brought in to work more closely with the club’s then-Sporting Director, who had developed a strong reputation for unearthing young talent. The promotion came shortly after the same sporting director had signed a new contract, per the TGG report. Stevens was already embedded in the Palace recruitment operation by that point.
When he left for Al-Diriyah in 2025, Stevens stepped up again. The BBC report on his move to Swansea described him as having filled in for the ex-Scotland striker when the Scotsman went to the Saudi side.
The Leipzig final was the latest test of that pipeline. Palace won three major trophies in 12 months. Stevens had been at Selhurst Park for every one of those wins.
What Stevens Is Walking Into
Swansea finished the 2025-26 season in 11th place in the Championship. The club have been without a sporting director since Richard Montague’s exit in September 2025, a departure that came just seven months after he had joined. Since then, the recruitment workload has been led by chief scout Jay Lefevre. Head of recruitment Adam Worth then departed in April this year.
The Stevens hire is meant to end what Wales Online described as a “rigorous search” that has played out over several weeks. Swansea have been looking for a sporting director since the previous director of football left last September, according to the BBC. Adam Worth’s April departure left Jay Lefevre as the lead figure in recruitment while the search dragged on.
What exactly Stevens will be doing has not been spelled out. The BBC report noted Stevens will hold a different title, though the role is likely to be similar in scope to the previous one. Wales Online reported the exact remit “hasn’t yet been clarified” but framed his arrival as a boost ahead of an important summer. The Championship transfer window opens in weeks, and Stevens is set to land in the middle of it.
The Other Names on the Shortlist
The search did not begin with Stevens. Wales Online reported that the club held initial talks with a shortlist that included several higher-profile names.
The shortlist included former Manchester United and Everton head of scouting Steve Brown, and former Swansea striker Michu, who Wales Online described as a “Swans legend.” Yahoo Sports reported that the club had also held talks with former Rosenborg chief Mikael Dorsin, a former Sweden international who left the Norwegian club earlier this year. Danish outlet Tipsbladet reported that Dorsin had already turned down a similar role at one other unnamed Championship club. His Rosenborg stint ended with record sales of around £39 million in transfer revenue, half of it generated on academy products.
Brown was a serious candidate. He had previously held scouting roles at Manchester United and Everton, and his name had been floated in the recruitment conversation. Michu brought a different kind of credibility to the search, as a former player with a strong connection to the club.
- Steve Brown: former head of scouting at Manchester United and Everton.
- Michu: Swans legend, in informal talks about a sporting director return.
- Mikael Dorsin: former Rosenborg chief and former Sweden international with 16 caps.
Dorsin’s talks went furthest among the outside candidates, but he kept his options open. He told Tipsbladet that he is weighing several offers and is in no hurry to make a decision. He is a former Sweden international with 16 caps, and his Rosenborg stint generated around £39 million in transfer revenue. The negotiations with Swansea coincided with his departure from the Norwegian club.
I have a few different options that I am considering.
Mikael Dorsin, the former Rosenborg chief, in comments to Danish outlet Tipsbladet. The Wales Online report added that Swansea had been weighing up the merits of each candidate against the backdrop of Palace’s European commitments.
What Palace Are Giving Up
Stevens leaves Selhurst Park after more than a decade embedded in the club’s recruitment and analysis function. Palace now have a backroom hole to fill of their own, having leaned on Stevens through their most successful era. The TGG report on his 2024 promotion noted that he was being brought in to work alongside the then-sporting director on the youth talent pipeline. Palace’s recruitment operation now faces a summer of change without him.
The numbers behind Palace’s run frame how much know-how is walking out of Selhurst Park.
- FA Cup: won in 2024-25
- Community Shield: won at the start of the 2025-26 season
- Conference League: 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig, fifth different winner
- Stevens at Selhurst Park: joined January 2015, more than a decade in south London
Palace won the FA Cup last season, lifted the Community Shield at the start of the current campaign, and beat Rayo Vallecano 1-0 in the final. It made them the fifth different winners of the competition. Stevens was part of the backroom setup for every one of those wins. Palace now face the task of replacing him through the summer. The transfer window opens in weeks for both clubs.
Why Swansea Held the Announcement for Leipzig
Swansea chose to wait on the announcement. The Wales Online report said the formalities of Stevens’s move were completed only after the conclusion of Palace’s European run in Leipzig. The Swans held the announcement back as a show of respect to the Eagles, who were still chasing silverware in Europe at the time. Stevens is now expected to be confirmed in his new role by the end of the week.
The timing matters. Palace’s European run, which ran from the league phase through to the final, gave Stevens a public-facing reason to delay a personal announcement. Swansea, who finished 11th in the Championship, will be hoping the backroom reshuffle translates into a sharper recruitment cycle this summer.
Palace now have to find a successor to Stevens through the summer, having leaned on him through the club’s most successful era. The backroom structure that helped Palace to a final in Leipzig will look different next season. Swansea will be hoping the new sporting director’s eye for talent translates into a sharper summer rebuild. Stevens is expected to be unveiled by the Swans in the next few days.
