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- - Sport - Football Swansea City chief confirms club close to new signing at Fans' Forum The Swans held their first Fans' Forum of the new season on Wednesday night Swansea City sporting director Ben Stevens says the club are close to landing a new signing - and it could even be confirmed in the next 24 hours. Stevens, who took his current role some three weeks ago, was facing supporters for the first time since his arrival from Crystal Palace, and claimed the club were close to confirming a sixth deal of the summer. "We're hopeful of a new signing," he said. "Maybe first thing in the morning. "If Tom [Gorringe] can open the budget, there's hopefully a couple more that will come in." It's understood that new arrival is likely to be former Southampton striker Ross Stewart. Chief executive Tom Gorringe was quizzed on several commercial matters and his hopes for the coming campaign, with the Swans bringing the curtain up on the new season by taking on Birmingham City in the League Cup on Saturday. Vitor Matos appeared to indicate he's a fan for Valencia's Andre Almeida, who remains a target this summer, and also suggested that Goncalo Franco might be set to return earlier than expected. You can catch up with all the key talking points with our blog below. That's everything from this evening's forum. "That partnership provides us with a big opportuniy. It gives us a big cash resources and allows us to invest." Gorringe says Modric is keen to come down to meet the team. "Unfortunately, he keeps signing new contracts!" he adds. Matos; "In our first pre-season game behind clsoed doors he had a knock on his ankle that needed a bit of surgery. "He will probably be back at the end of August." "He will stay in the first team. "He's an exciting player. We were really happy with him last season. Loans allow players to have exposure in terms of game time and it worked really well with Fil. He has really good talent and he can play in all positions in the back four, and I'm really happy with him." "The kits that were worn will be sold for charity. "There are opportunities in the future that may arise for us to operate in that space." "I think the rlaionship;s really important. Since I've been here, they've been a real partner to the club. We've discussed a range of issues. They give feedback and we give background on decisions and why. "They're a critical friend and we've got a really good relationship and it's working really well and I 've hope continue to work together in the future." Says there's currently no plans for travel from the club, rather than the Swansea Jack. "We're not looking to change the badge. A lot of the feedback we have is that supporters don't like the circular badge on our home kits. "The logo doesn't necessarily translate very well without being embossed with the wording. "We have to make a formal request for the writing be changed. We won't lose the version with the wriring but it gives us more flexibility to use the badge without the writing." "Ultimately it is sustainable. We'e in a player trading model. We will, and always have sold players. "If you look a the squad we've got, here's' more assets in it. When I came in and saw that first game with Sheffield Wednesday, there was a concern about where the assets were. "We don't need to sell anyone, but if we do it opens up opportunities for us." "I don't know how I can answer that! "Ross and Andre are really good players. Tha's something good for us if we want to add profiles or different types of profiles. "We all love to have the most consistency from the XI as that helps the team grow. "It's not best XI, it's the best possible team." Very interesting quotes here. "We're hopeful of a new signing. "Maybe first thing in the morning. "If Tom can help make funds available, there could be two more." Stevens confirms the club have a plan in place in the event of selling Vipotnik. We're back under way here. We're now going to take a short break. Also confirms another 'senior' player is potentially on his way to the Swans... "The main thing is understanding why you are winning. "When you don't understand, when a defeat or draw comes, you're in trouble because you're in the desert. There's nothing to grab onto. "It's important that we have these senior players in the squad. From Vigs, Burgess, Fulton, Farman, even the players coming in. "One of the things we've tried in the market is to ensure the character fits in with the club. "The other is to sign talent and potential. Elijah for example, he's a young player but he already feels senior. "Quite soon we'll be signing another player that's more experienced in the league." "When you see Carter come forward and play as he did in Austria, Filip Lissah as well, of course it's impressive. "We went from Cat 2 to Cat 1 at Palace. We have to get there here, but it's a step by step process." Confirms that Carter Heywood, Thomas Woodward are both training with the first team at the moment. Gorringe: "We've made the formal application to move back into Cat 1. We're confident we will meet the criteria for that move. "If we do meet those criteria we will move back to Cat 1 from next season." Matos: "Culture is a big a part of what we're building. It's one of the reasons we renewed with some of hte players , like Jay. "It's why it's also important to have Cabango here too. "The culture is built through many things. Some of these are important because when you have a leadership group, they can help bring through younger players. "That's why we've looked to keep that core group. "Liam Cullen was here as a young kid. Took the culture of the club everywhere he went. "But at the same time, he has a right to decide if he wants to stay or move on. When everyone is happy, we need to be open on that." Stevens: "Having Jamestown means we can cast the net worldwide. "Data will open up a lot more markets, but we have to also ensure our own internal processes are right. "It's nice to see how players connect with each other. One of the nice things was seeing Opoku link up with Moussa. So we have to look at who's going to connect with the rest of the squad. Gorringe: "We have a team of scouts that put names forward. We have input form Vitor on what's needed. "We might look at 10 players Jamestown recommend, and decide we only like three. "Vitor might then say actually he likes one or two. It's usually the most expensive one!" Gorringe: "We've agreed a price with the council, they've taken it through internally. "Effectively we'll have the flexibility at things like expansion. We'd still have to get planning permission. "But we would also save on lease fees too." Gorringe: "We haven't officially bought it yet. We've been in extensive conversations with the council. We've been in negotiations with the council. "When I came in we didn't really own many assets. We've invested in a new LED system that will go into the stadium bowl this season. But implementing that was tricky as we didn't own the stadium and the council effectively owned the old screens. "We're now at a point where we've agreed a deal to buy the system and hopefully it will give us more flexibility to do more in the stadium. "We've already updated the club shop and we're working on the fanzone and hopefully there will be more to come. "We're also trying to buy Fairwood for many of the same reasons." It's in regard to the new financial rules and the differences that have affected the club. Gorringe: "Effectively the main change is that it's moved from pofitablity to a revenue based system. That's in line with UEFA and the PL. It cements what we thought that revenue is really important. "It's now a cash-based system for player trading. The new sysem allows for equity to be injected from ownership. It doesn't change the disparity between us from the teams coming down with parachute payments etc. "We still have to run as good a business structure as we can to remain competitive on the pitch. "In terms of he business we've done so far, it kind of fits in with hat model. "PSR had probably run it's race. Lots of clubs were struggling to comply with those rules due to things about the inflation of wages. So there was an enthusiasm to change things." "I've been in football for 21 years, coming to Swansea was due to the converastions I'd had with the ownership. "I had 11 years with Palace, I'd love to have 11 years here. "Alignment from top to bottom is what delivers success." "Really happy with everything at the club. "I think the aim is that we need to be competitive against every team. I's a really interesting season for many reasons, including the increase in the number of teams for the play-offs. "It's a season that will happen until the last game so we need to be comepetitve until the end. "There are some strong squads coming down so that makes it more interesting for us. "We don't need to be the best team in the league but we need to be able to beat the best teams in the league. "I hope you see a part of you in the club. "Special nights and afternoons are good for the club. "I think that is one of the aims, of course. We are all really ambitious. "We're not going to fly and beat every team but we will fight for every performance, but we need you all. "If we are not together it will be 10 times harder. "When we have that we are a special club. "Success? We all have the right to dream but we need to see it in how the team progresses. "It was probably our first market in terms of getting the profiles of players we wanted. "We are in the direction of getting a squad that is competitive. "I hope everyone that pulls on that shirt understands the non-negotiables. Effort, character and commitment to be a protagonist on the game." It's about the proposed new fan park and where things stand on the plans. "Plans for that are progressing really well. Formal and final applicaion is due to go in, in a month's time. "In terms of the timeline, we want it up and operational by the end of the season. "Everybody here is working as hard as they can to get it up and running at the earliest opportunity." A brief moment of applause for Kev Johns, who obviously normally oversees these sorts of events, but is currently recovering from a stroke. Really good turn out here. Evening all. Welcome to our live blog of tonight's Fans' Forum. We'll be getting under way in just under 10 minutes or so.