Old, new, borrowed and Blue: how Swansea are thriving again
10-Feb-2021 08:00:29 | The Guardian
Club welcome Manchester City in FA Cup with Steve Cooper using his coaching prowess and England contacts to good effect
In a pocket of south Wales, there is a patch home to some of England’s burgeoning talent. Since taking charge at Swansea, Steve Cooper has borrowed or signed five players who were part of his victorious team at the Under-17 World Cup in 2017, but perhaps the most precocious talent from that group will line up for the opposition when Manchester City visit in the FA Cup fifth round. Phil Foden never came close to becoming the sixth. “If we did ask the question, I think we would’ve got a swift reply,” Cooper says, smiling.
Foden, Cooper says, spent that tournament with a ball close to his feet everywhere from the training pitches to the hotel corridor. He scored twice in the final and flew home from Kolkata with the Golden Ball. Conor Gallagher, Morgan Gibbs-White and Rhian Brewster are playing in the Premier League after reuniting with Cooper on loan at Swansea; Marc Guehi has returned on loan from Chelsea for a second season; and Joel Latibeaudiere, who captained England to victory over Spain in the final, has signed from Manchester City.
Related: Swansea's Connor Roberts: 'I can be in the workshop for hours on end'
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