Is Swansea's answer staring them in the face?

The question of how Swansea City might replace Zan Vipotnik is sure to be asked this summer.

The answer may be staring the Championship club in the face.

For the moment, Vipotnik remains a Swansea player and will be part of Vitor Matos' squad when they return for pre-season.

But after the Slovenia striker's return of 25 club goals in 2025-26, Swansea's hierarchy accept that transfer interest is inevitable during the close season.

Plans must be made, therefore, for the possibility of life without Vipotnik.

Swansea will have forwards on their list of potential summer recruits, with the aim - should a deal happen - being to uncover another gem after their recent successes with Vipotnik and Joel Piroe.

But the fact that Swansea already have another established goalscorer on their books in the shape of Adam Idah will also come into the equation.

Idah arrived from Celtic for an initial £6m last September, making him the most expensive signing in Swansea's history outside their seven-year spell in the Premier League.

The Republic of Ireland international was brought in by then boss Alan Sheehan to be Swansea's frontline number nine but the plan did not work out.

Vipotnik's superb form, plus a significant hamstring injury suffered halfway through the season, combined to ensure Idah was not the central figure Swansea expected him to be.

Nevertheless, with his blend of mobility, presence and finishing prowess, Idah showed in flashes what he can offer.

The 25-year-old made only six Championship starts in his first season at Swansea – plus 19 second-tier substitute appearances – and scored six goals.

He found the target once every 138 minutes while on the pitch in the league, similar to Vipotnik's ratio (one goal every 128 minutes), which put the two Swansea forwards among the best in the division in that particular category.

A goal per league start is a tally any player would take, but Idah describes his first year at Swansea as "not the season I would have wanted".

"To finish it with six goals is all right [but] I would have wanted more," he says.

"What every player wants is more games, more minutes and hopefully the more you play, the more goals you score."

Idah had just claimed a last-gasp winner against Wrexham – his third goal in his 18th Swansea league appearance – when he suffered a hamstring injury during training over Christmas.

He did not play club football again until early April.

"That's obviously not what you want when you come into a new team, to get injured," Idah says.

"But it's part and parcel of football. There are tough moments."

Whether it was from the substitutes' bench or the treatment room, Idah spent much of the season watching Vipotnik thrive.

The two frontmen were rarely on the pitch together, with Idah acknowledging they are "rivals" competing every day on the training ground for the same spot in Swansea's team.

But there is no animosity between the duo.

In fact, Idah describes Vipotnik as one of his closest friends in the dressing room.

"We want the best for each other and if he's scoring goals week in and week out then we're both doing our job right," Idah says.

"He's great to me when I'm playing. He's a great help for me and I'm sure we're learning off each other.

"I'm delighted for him. He's an unbelievable guy so I wish him all the best."

All at Swansea will spend the close season wondering what the future holds for Vipotnik, given that players who score heavily in the Championship tend to be picked off by clubs higher up the chain.

Should the former Bordeaux player be sold, few are likely to be impacted more directly than Idah, who may then see a fresh opportunity to nail down a place in Matos' team.

Regardless of how things pan out in the window, Idah says it is "not a bad thing" for a goalscorer to be linked with a transfer because it usually means they are scoring goals.

"It's what you want. It shows the club are doing something right and Vipi (Vipotnik) is doing something right," he adds.

"I think no matter where you are, if you're a striker and you've scored the number of goals he has, there's always going to be speculation."

Vipotnik's goals were central to the story of Swansea's season, but there was a different tale told last weekend.

While Vipotnik missed a presentable chance against Charlton Athletic, Idah arrived from the bench to score twice in the closing stages of the Swans' 3-1 final-day win.

After a campaign in which Vipotnik has taken most of the plaudits, there was a nice moment during the Charlton triumph when he made a point of celebrating his team-mate's success.

Idah smiles when asked about their interaction.

"I just said to him, I'm trying to be more like him," he says.