Brandon Cooper relishing continental challenge

Defender Brandon Cooper is relishing the different challenge posed by Swansea City Under-23s' Premier League International Cup opener against PSV Eindhoven on Thursday (7pm).

The Dutch giants, who ply their trade in the Eerste Divisie – the second tier in Dutch football - travel to Landore for what will be the young Swans’ first match in Group D.

Gary Richards and Cameron Toshack’s side are set to embark on their fourth consecutive appearance in the competition, having reached the semi-finals in 2017 – losing to eventual champions Porto.

Three years on, Cooper is hopeful the Swans can enjoy another strong run on the continental stage.

“It’s a very good competition. We’ve played some fantastic opposition over the past couple of years,” the 19-year-old said.

“They are top, top teams playing in senior leagues with very good technical players that demonstrate a lot of quality on the ball.

“They will provide a different challenge compared to what we normally face in the league.

“Hopefully, we can go on a run like the one we enjoyed in 2017.

“It was a fantastic journey all the way until we eventually got beat by a very good Porto team.”

The Swans are aiming to bounce back from Monday’s 5-0 defeat by Reading in Premier League 2 Division 2.

Cooper believes the quick turnaround could potentially work in favour of the development side, as they prepare for the second of five games in the space of two weeks.

“Obviously, we’re not on the best run of form at the moment,” the centre-half added.

“But, when that’s the case, you want a lot of games in a short space of time so you can quickly put things right.

“After Monday’s game, we’re looking forward to starting from fresh and getting going again.

“If we can get a good result, that will set us up nicely for the next few games and we can start building momentum.”