Swansea City head coach Carlos Carvalhal said he was happy with Connor Roberts’ debut in the FA Cup at Wolves on Saturday.
The Swans boss revealed after the goalless draw that he made the decision to give Roberts a start at right back at Molineux Stadium after watching a video of him during his loan spell at Middlesbrough, as well as receiving ‘a lot of good information’ from club legend Alan Curtis, whose role is now to monitor Swansea City players on loan.
The 22 year-old right back has been one of the star performers for the under-23 side, and one of those tipped for the first team, along with the likes of Oli McBurnie who is well involved in the Premier League side, defender Joe Rodon and midfielder George Byers to name a few.
What did the fans make of Roberts debut?
Crossing wasn’t the best but that will come and he tried a lot. Got forward well, didn’t get beaten a lot. Good performance overall
? M@ in the h@ (@maff_13) January 6, 2018
I wouldn`t be concerned if he played next week too. Generally solid defensively, got forward well, made more intelligent runs than Naughton and put in some decent crosses. He can be pleased with his debut.
? Guto Llewelyn (@GutoLlewelyn) January 7, 2018
I was at the game, he looked far better than Naughton and Rangel, should definitely be given a chance against Newcastle on Saturday. Crossing looked good and also defensively sound
? Theo Young #BackToJack (@theoswansea) January 6, 2018
Did well, put in the effort, decision making wasn`t always the best but with a run in the side that`ll come. Also first over to the fans at the end which I loved
? Gareth (@gaz096) January 6, 2018
With Kyle Naughton serving a suspension and Angel Rangel out with an injury, it’s the perfect opportunity for Roberts to make his first ever Premier League performance on Saturday at Newcastle United. Carvalhal says he will make a decision on who plays at right back at St James’ Park during the week, with Mike van der Hoorn being the other contender having filled in during the 2-0 home defeat against Spurs last Tuesday night.
‘I am very happy with him, we are looking to those boys and some of them have been training with us,’
‘We are happy to put them in the team and I was more than happy to give a chance to Connor.
‘I talked with Alan Curtis about him because Alan has been analysing all the players we have had on loan and he gave me a lot of good information.
‘It was crucial for me to talk to him and learn, and when I looked at the video of Connor playing for Middlesbrough against Leeds I felt it was a good idea for him to play.
‘I must tell you he only trained one day with us and has then gone straight into the game and I was happy with him.’
‘Let’s see, because that is a situation we will see. We have a week to prepare for that game and then we can make a decision,’ said Carvalhal.
‘We understand that he did well, but we have time to make a decision for next week. The most important thing is he did well for us in this game and we will analyse it and move forward.’
