With the new season literally days away, here's my take on what we can expect from Michael Laudrup's new-look Swans this year.

It's a good time to be Joe Allen. The last 12 months have seen the youngster's profile shoot from useful midfielder in an exciting small team to, apparently, £15 million pounds worth of Big Six talent.

There's no denying Swans' fans affection for Allen - he'd been in the organisation since he was nine years old - but at times like these, a strong spoonful of perspective helps the medicine go down. Joe Allen was not, after all, the only player in the Swans' 11th place side last season.

The Swans finished their pre-season tour of the United States with a win, a draw and a loss. The results might not have been much to write home about, but the tour has given new boss Michael Laudrup plenty of opportunity to evaluate the players.

With three new players signed already, talk of contraction in the squad and Liverpool sniffing around the Liberty like a pushy old lady in the reduced section of Tesco, it seems pretty certain more change will come before the season opener.

Michael Laudrup continues to re-paint the Swans in continental colours, but might have to watch Joe Allen turn red. Meanwhile, the Swans hit the States as the entire squad get their chance to impress the new boss.

New boss Michael Laudrup has wasted no time in shoring up the squad in key areas, bringing in two former charges to fill out gaps in defence and midfield. The signings should help allay any fears Swans fans might have had following the double loss of loanee stand-outs Stephen Caulker and Gylfi Sigurdsson, who re-united at Spurs.

Whilst the football world was preoccupied with the discovery that 'tiki taka' is actually the sound Spaniards make when they snore, the Swans underwent a significant makeover.

In the last instalment of my statistical Swans season breakdown, I'll be looking at a Swansea City 'best eleven'. There aren't many surprises, but there is plenty of food for thought.

With the commotion of Brendan Rodgers' move to Liverpool now waning and Huw Jenkins yet to announce a new manager, news on the Swans front has gone quiet... for the moment. So it's a perfect time to continue my end of season stats round-up. In part three, we'll be looking at the Swans attack.

After flirting heavily with ex-Swans boss Roberto Martinez, Liverpool have instead poached Brendan Rodgers from Swansea who will have to find their third manager since Martinez jumped ship to Wigan in 2009.

Part two of my post-season stats roundup looks at the Swansea midfield.