Michael Laudrup relishing the chance to take Swansea City control

MICHAEL Laudrup has revealed he was tempted to Swansea City by the opportunity to have a major say in club business.

The latest man to take the Liberty reins arrived in South Wales after a sour end to life at Real Mallorca.

Laudrup led the Spanish club to La Liga safety during his first season in charge, during which several first-team players were sold to raise funds.

Mallorca were kicked out of the Europa League because of their financial problems, before Laudrup's assistant Erik Larsen was sacked early in the next campaign.

That prompted the Danish legend to resign, after which he admitted there had been friction between himself and director of football Lorenzo Serra Ferrer.

Swansea's financial stability is believed to have been a key reason behind Laudrup's decision to take charge at SA1.

Difference

And the control a British manager has over club affairs also proved attractive.

"There's a huge difference in this country in terms of mentality and the work of the manager," said Laudrup.

"The manager is involved at a very high level in terms of signings and who leaves.

"He doesn't have to decide everything, but at least he can have a word on everything.

"We have seen a lot of cases (in other countries) where the club have signed players or sold players and the coach reads about it in the local paper.

"You can accept that or you cannot. Sometimes you can accept it once, but not two or three times.

"I know the mentality is different here and that's another reason why I decided to come here."

Laudrup will liaise with head of player recruitment David Leadbetter and chairman Huw Jenkins over who to bring to South Wales.

But his say will carry huge weight.

Laudrup's first task will be to identify a replacement for Gylfi Sigurdsson, who looks set to snub a return to Swansea in favour of signing for a Premier League big hitter.

Swansea also need defensive cover now centre-back Steven Caulker has returned to parent club Spurs after a season-long loan.

And adding a new striker to the squad is likely to be high on the Dane's list of priorities.

The former Barcelona, Real Madrid and Ajax midfielder will also be reassured by the fact Swansea have proved stubborn in their desire to hold onto key performers in recent seasons.

Ferrie Bodde and Neil Taylor both signed new deals despite looking set to leave after being the subject of interest from higher-placed clubs.

Swansea do not operate with a sporting director charged with signing players, leaving the manager to primarily coach.

Brendan Rodgers was adamant he did not want such a figure in place at Liverpool and Laudrup seems to have a similar view on the matter.

"I am very open to hearing people's opinions — players, staff, the chairman, the head of scouting," added the 48-year-old.

"It's much better to have a relationship like that where you discuss things and put some thoughts on the table and say 'OK, we do it like that'.

"At the end of the day, we have to work together.

"Football is a collective sport with a lot of egos. The players want to play, the manager wants the best for his team so he thinks for himself and the club want the best team for the least money possible. But we have to work together."