Guardian writers' predicted position: 7th (NB: this is not necessarily Jacob Steinberg's prediction but the average of our writers' tips)

Last season's position: 9th

Odds to win the league: (via Oddschecker) 1,500-1

Swansea City have become accustomed to managerial change over the past few years, Paulo Sousa, Roberto Martínez and Brendan Rodgers all leaving for what they assumed to be bigger and better things, and it has never adversely affected them. Under Huw Jenkins, they have always had a solution, reacting to any perceived setbacks with admirable alacrity, refusing to press the panic button and instead calmly and sensibly identifying and then appointing a manager who can continue the club's ethos of unearthing talent and playing attractive football.

So perhaps they would have survived and thrived if Michael Laudrup had left this summer. It is what they do. Yet this time, when it seemed a genuine possibility that the Dane might leave, it was possible to detect an inkling of pessimism. Whereas Martínez, Rodgers and Sousa all departed with the club's blessing, Laudrup's departure would have been because of friction between him and Jenkins, the pair reportedly clashing over the club's lack of transfer activity at the start of the summer and if the situation had become unresolvable, this could have been a very different preview. It would have featured words like crisis, uncertainty and instability.

However the air was cleared, both parties made their peace and Laudrup, the man who won Swansea their first ever major trophy last season and led them into Europe, has been placated by the arrival of eight players, the most eye-catching of which is the £12m signing of the Ivory Coast striker Wilfried Bony from Vitesse Arnhem. Laudrup has also used his extensive knowledge of La Liga to identify more potential Michus, signing Jordi Amat from Espanyol and José Cañas and Alejandro Pozuelo from Real Betis, meaning Swansea now have seven Spanish players.

Overall it is impossible not to be overwhelmed by the positive vibes emanating from the Liberty Stadium. Swansea are unmistakably a club on the rise, one that is building astutely for the future, and there is a sense that they could be on the verge of something special. After signing a new contract last week, Nathan Dyer summed up the upbeat mood by questioning why anyone would want to leave. Look away now, Scott Sinclair. "You only have to look at the players who have left and it's not always turned out well," Dyer said. "You have to look at it and think: 'Is this the right club for me?' And it is. We're moving in the right direction so it was a no-brainer."

Swansea were underestimated last season and even erroneously tipped to go down as a result of Rodgers joining Liverpool. His departure was also exacerbated by the sales of Joe Allen and Sinclair, while Steven Caulker and Gylfi Sigurdsson's loans were not extended. Yet they started the season with a 5-0 thumping of Queens Park Rangers, Michu scoring twice, and they never looked back from there.

With Michu proving an inspired purchase, they won 2-0 at Arsenal in the league and beat Liverpool and Chelsea on their way to winning the Capital One Cup, breaking Bradford City's hearts in the final.

Michu stole the headlines but there were also notable contributions from Chico Flores, Pablo Hernández and Jonathan de Guzman, who has been signed again on loan from Villarreal after impressing last season. They might be hoping for more from Ki Sung-Yeung, though. The South Korean midfielder played a safer role than he might have been used to and was unable to show off his prowess from long range, failing to score a single goal.

Under Laudrup, however, Swansea were more incisive than they were under Rodgers, less obsessed with total control and willing to throw more caution to the wind as a consequence of Michu's 22 goals after his £2m move from Rayo Vallecano. The 27-year-old mostly played as a No9 last season but the arrival of Bony means that he is likely to be used as a No10, where he is equally comfortable.

It was crucial to ease the load on Michu's shoulders. Swansea relied heavily on him for goals last season, with no other player getting close to double figures, and signing Bony, who had been linked with Chelsea and West Ham, signals their intent. The Ivorian will inevitably be compared to Didier Drogba but after scoring 31 goals in 30 games in the Netherlands last season, he is clearly an upgrade on Luke Moore and Itay Shechter, who has returned to Israel. The early signs have been encouraging, Bony scoring twice and providing an assist as Swansea beat Malmo 4-0 in the first leg of their Europa League third-round qualifier, and he could form a fearsome partnership with Michu. If they click, few defences will relish stopping them.

The most intriguing addition is Jonjo Shelvey, who has been signed for £5m after an underwhelming three-year spell at Liverpool, where he scored seven goals in 59 games. His inability to make a lasting impression at Liverpool means some people will scoff, especially as the main achievement in his career so far is swearing at Sir Alex Ferguson after being sent off against Manchester United last season, but he is only 21 and was hyped heavily when he was at Charlton Athletic. Indeed it might be easier for him to develop at Swansea, where a player such as Wayne Routledge has quietly become a Premier League regular after years of aimless wandering. Shelvey and Pozuelo, a 21-year-old attacking midfielder who scored against Malmo, should keep Routledge, Dyer and Hernández on their toes.

Shelvey could inject a greater goalscoring threat from a midfield which occasionally lacked requisite bite in the final third, but the emphasis will still be on possession. Few sides, if any, keep the ball as well as Swansea and Cañas should slot in well, providing extra cover for the defence and allowing Ki and De Guzman a platform to maintain Swansea's possession-based football. The hope is also that the presence of Cañas will allow Laudrup to rest Leon Britton, the fulcrum of the side but almost 31, without disrupting the side's flow.

Amat, signed for £2.5m, may well turn out to be the most intelligent signing. The 21-year-old defender is highly regarded in Spain, although the rough and tumble of the Premier League could be a shock to the system initially. It will help that there are already two Spanish defenders in the squad, Flores and Angel Rangel, both of whom have had no trouble adapting to English football.

It can sometimes be difficult to work out how good Swansea's back four is because of the way their passing acts as a first line of defence, yet Ashley Williams, who has been linked with Arsenal and Liverpool for a while, rarely puts a foot wrong, the left-backs, Neil Taylor and Ben Davies, are excellent and so are the goalkeepers, Michel Vorm and Gerhard Tremmel. They were only thrashed once all season, a weakened side losing 5-0 at Liverpool a week before the League Cup final.

So how far can Swansea go? Assuming they cope with the demands of the Europa League – and, of course, get through the qualifying – Laudrup will hope to improve on finishing ninth last season. They might have been higher if they had not understandably taken their eye off the ball after winning the League Cup in February and this season they should be aiming for somewhere from sixth to eighth. Whatever happens, a journey that began with Swansea scrapping for their very survival at the start of the century has a way to go yet.

Player focus infographic