The Swans head into Sunday’s Championship clash at home to Sheffield Wednesday with a growing sense of stability and also relief that Vipotnik is still a Swansea player.
Interest in the 23-year-old striker had hovered in the background throughout the January transfer window.
Premier League links - most strongly to struggling West Ham - swirled as his 13 league goals so far this season and all-round contribution continued to catch the eye.
But when the deadline passed, Vipotnik remained at the Swansea.com Stadium, something Matos views as the most important piece of business the club completed.
“The best transfer we had is that we kept the squad,” Matos said.
“I think that is really important. It shows as well the commitment in the end all of them have with the club and with the season. And I think being able to do that with ease was really important for us.”
That sense of continuity underpins Swansea’s improving form, with seven wins from their last 12 league games and a growing belief that Matos’ ideas are starting to take hold.
Yet while the Portuguese coach accepts that Vipotnik’s trajectory could eventually lead him to the top flight, he is equally clear that the Slovenian forward is still a work in progress.
READ MORE: Vitor Matos Insists the Foundations are Being Laid at Swansea City
“There’s a lot of strikers who are the best scorers of the Championship, who did good careers in the Premier League, and a lot of strikers who were the best scorers of the Championship who didn’t have a good career in the Premier League,” Matos cautioned.
“So it will always depend where he goes, how he fits the squad, how he fits the style.”
For now, Matos is focused less on speculation and more on development.
He believes Vipotnik’s work without the ball is just as important as his finishing, pointing to his work in the press and his role as a focal point for the team.
“I think he has a lot of qualities,” Matos said.
“He helps so much the team on the moment, pressing wise, setting triggers, adding as well as a reference. So he’s improving his game as well.”
The Swansea boss also stressed that hunger, rather than hype, will determine how far Vipotnik can go.
“He’s still quite young, which is something important,” he said. “He has a lot of hunger… so he wants to develop himself.”
That mindset was one reason Swansea would have felt comfortable resisting any late-window approaches.
Matos praised Vipotnik’s attitude during a period when many players might have pushed for a move.
“He’s really clear and he’s a really straight person,” he said. “If you are clear and straight, it’s always easy.”
Saturday’s opponents Sheffield Wednesday present a different kind of challenge.
Despite sitting in a difficult position and struggling for goals, Matos is adamant his side cannot afford complacency against the bottom club.
“They always stay in the game until the end,” he said. “They always have a way to compete… it will be a good game, not an easy one.”
Wednesday have added familiar faces such as Jerry Yates and Jamal Lowe, both former Swansea players, adding another edge to the contest.
Matos expects a battle rather than a straightforward afternoon.
“We have full respect,” he said. “The most important thing is that we go and we compete.”
With his squad close to full fitness, reinforced by deadline-day arrival Leo Walta, and with Vipotnik still leading the line, Matos believes Swansea are well placed to continue their upward trend.
