Swansea City completed the £300,000 signing of Shrewsbury Town left-back Nathanael Ogbeta in the final minutes of the transfer window last night so we thought we’d take a closer look to see what we might expect from the new signing.
After allowing Jake Bidwell to leave on a free to join fellow Championship side Coventry City, it was vital that the Swans brought in a left wing-back option. In Bidwell’s absence, centre-back Latibeaudiere has been filling in and whilst he has tried his best in a challenging position for a defender, it’s been clear how much we need a proper left-sided wing-back there, especially in Russell Martin’s system that relies heavily on high, attacking wing-backs to create attacking opportunities.
So, with that in mind, we thought we’d take a look at the 20-year-old and see what we can offer us as well take a look at Twitter and comments made from Shrewsbury fans.
Swansea City clinch left wing-back signing in final moments of deadline day
Having watched some of his play this season, I can see what Steve Waters means in his tweet below. His defensive work is far from excellent. He doesn’t look the strongest when up against runners and he can be dribbled past quite easily at times but it’s important to note that most of his work in Martin’s system will be in attack. The wing-backs are practically wingers with very limited defensive work required.
There were definitely times when you thought, he’s one of only a couple of players who could have seen that pass. I don’t think Cotterill liked his defensive work ethic but definitely had some quality on the ball.
— Steve Waters (@Steve_Waters84) January 31, 2022
On the front foot and in open space is where he really excels. A good turn of pace, has a good skillset and can whip in and curl some excellent low crosses in behind the opposition’s defensive line. His assist in the cup game against Liverpool is a perfect example of that.
For those who don’t know who Ogbeta is, this was his assist when he played Liverpool just 3 weeks ago
— Alex R (@alexyjb) January 31, 2022
Aged 20 too😍just hope it goes through pic.twitter.com/CMRBMeXUSL
class on his day, worrying signs recently but he’s still young so most likely rookie errors
— kanye (@kanye_webb) January 31, 2022
#Swans completed the permanent signing of Shrewsbury Town left-back Nathanael Ogbeta late last night.
— Swans Analytics (@SwansAnalytics) February 1, 2022
Here's his 21-22 @insightMrkt Player Profile (vs J. Bidwell).
An attacking LB that will better suit a more attacking Wing-back role pic.twitter.com/MMFWgcpXRl
Ogbeta xT map up until Jan 29th pic.twitter.com/6LhUO3bdZz
— Swans Analytics (@SwansAnalytics) February 1, 2022
unreal last season. Got dropped at the start of this, got back in the team but never looked quite as good. Confident he will be great in the champ, as a LWB. Future prem star
— Jackos 🃏 (@Jackos309) January 31, 2022
All the best @NathanaelOgbeta has been nothing but fantastic for us & look forward to watching his future progress with interest 👍
— Andy Davies (@poolieshrew) January 31, 2022
“Well s**t. No doubt we knew this day was coming at some point but had rather hoped he would have spent a bit longer than he has with us. Couple that with him being in and then out and then in again I don’t think we really made the most of his stay with us. Just feels as though we have missed out on something here.
Good luck to him of course but disappointed to see him go.” – Shrewsbury Town forum post“Thought he was brilliant today All the pundits raving about hime Just hope we can hang on to him in January” – Shrewsbury Town forum post
“Very impressed with his performance. A real gem of a player that the club need to hang on too.”
“Ogbeta will be another player that we will have let slip through the net & I can guarantee he’ll go for big money in the future.
It’s insane as to how obvious his talent is but seemingly the powers that be do their best to scupper any signing of a new longer contract.”
There are obviously going to be weaknesses to his game, he’s still very young and raw. Is he ready to make the step up to the Championship? Possibly not right now but he has half a season and a full Summer pre-season to prepare for 2022-23.
He sounds like a really exciting prospect and one that could really excel in a more advanced role. His crossing ability will be very useful but he can also move inside and link up in attacking moves. He has some pace which we desperately need and overall, Swansea fans should be excited with this news of Ogbeta’s arrival.
The Swans need to continue picking up talents in League One for low fees, just like this and Flynn Downes from Ipswich.
