Defensive improvement key for Kees

Kees de Boer believes improving his defensive duties have helped him make big progress at Swansea City.

The Dutch midfielder has been a regular for the club’s under-23s side in the 2018-19 season, helping them to the Premier League Cup semi-finals despite their relegation from the top division of development football.

He also lifted silverware with the club’s under-19s as they won the FAW Youth Cup.

And the 19-year-old, who joined the Swans from Ajax in the summer of 2017, felt it was a positive campaign on a personal level.

“It’s been a good season for me,” said de Boer. “I have played a lot of games since Christmas and I feel I have grown as a player. I am getting better, and that is why I am here.

“I want to be a better player and I think if you compared how I played towards the end of the season with how I played earlier in the season then you would see there has been progress.

“I think especially the defensive side of my game has improved. I still have a lot of work to do on that, but I have made steps.”