In the Spotlight | Lawrence Vigouroux

Lawrence Vigouroux may be one of the older heads in the Swansea City squad, but the new goalkeeper’s eyes glint with a youthful enthusiasm when he talks about his desire to make the most of his Championship opportunity.

The 30-year-old joined the Swans from Burnley in the summer as he linked up once again with Luke Williams, having previously worked under the Swans boss during his time at Swindon.

He has wasted no time in making an impact, with his showings quickly earning him a recall to the Chile squad.

Vigouroux has the best goals prevented figure of any Championship goalkeeper, his tally of 6.4 being well clear of the next best 3.2.

Of goalkeepers to make more than one league appearance this term, only Sheffield United's Michael Cooper can beat his save percentage of 84.62, with his overall tally of 33 saves the second-best such figure in the division.

As a unit, the Swans have conceded just six goals in their nine league games so far, with that being the joint-third best record in the Championship.

But Vigouroux has also caught the eye with his calmness and accurate distribution with the ball at his feet.

He is one of only two goalkeepers to complete more than 50 per cent of their long passes this season. Vigouroux also has the second-highest number of attempted passes and an overall pass completion rate of 72 per cent so far this term.

He has looked completely at home in the Championship, as Vigouroux's pedigree suggests he should, but it has been a long journey back to this level, as the man himself acknowledges.

Earlier in his career, Vigouroux was on the books of Tottenham, Liverpool and Brentford and was a highly-rated prospect.

However, with the aid of the hindsight and wisdom that inevitably comes with maturity, Vigouroux is honest enough to admit that his attitude and application were not what they could and should have been during that period.

Spells with Swindon, Waterford, Everton de Vina del Mar and Leyton Orient followed, and his outstanding three-year stint with the latter paved the way for a move to Premier League Burnley a little over 12 months ago.

Now, he is getting his first exposure to the Championship, and it is a chance he is determined to seize.

“This is a really big opportunity for me, there’s no doubt about it,” he said.

“It has taken me a long time in my career to get back to this level, and I know I simply have to make the most of it.

“I am working with a coach who gives players so much confidence to express themselves on the pitch, and who I loved working with at Swindon.

“I also get to work with the England goalkeeping coach (Martyn Margetson) every day, so there are no excuses for me.

“I have got to work hard to prove myself and improve myself every day, there are really good goalkeepers here so, if I want to play regularly, I have got to be ready for that battle.

“We’ve got staff here who just want to work hard to help you and make you better, I am going to lean on them and try and play as many games as I can. 

“I’m excited and I am giving it my best shot because, like I say, I’ve had to wait a long time to get back to this level and have this chance.

"I am lucky because we've got such a good defence here, and they make it easy for me. 

"The defensive record we have is credit to the players in front of me, they show great intensity in front of goal.

"They work so hard, and they put their bodies on the line. I'm lucky enough to make the saves they allow me to make."

Initially on the books at Brentford, Camden-born Vigouroux was snapped up by Tottenham and spent over two years with the White Hart Lane club across a period where Andre Villas-Boas and Tim Sherwood were the managers.

A switch to Liverpool – where former Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers was in charge at the time, followed but, as he looks back, Vigouroux knows he did not do himself justice at those clubs.

“When I was younger I had a reputation as being a good goalkeeper, I was up and coming and I think I took that reputation for granted,” he says.

“But that only gets you so far, and I was not the most professional guy when I was younger. I was sloppy, and you cannot be sloppy.

“It would be things like being a few minutes late for meetings or for training, and those things hamper you.

“I was not mature enough to recognise those things at the time, but sometimes you have to learn your lessons the hard way for them to hit home.

“I hope this is the case with me because how you are on a day-to-day basis, how you treat people and the respect you show to the people around you is incredibly important, and I am better at those things now than I was then.”

His move to Swindon – initially on loan before a permanent switch – provided a reset of sorts for Vigouroux and he made a considerable impression at the County Ground.

His form also saw him first included in the Chilean national squad – Vigouroux’s father hails from the south American nation – and it would be to that nation that he would head when he was released by Swindon.

That experience proved a challenging one, as anti-government demonstrations saw the country’s league season curtailed, leaving Vigouroux in limbo.

“It’s been a long process to get me here, and working with Luke Williams again was one of the things driving it for me because of the time we spent together at Swindon,” he said.

“He gives me freedom and, the kind of goalkeeper that I am, that is really important because I don’t feel rigid. Tactically, he gives me really good pictures of what I am going to face and be up against.

“He is a big influence on how I see the game. He was assistant when I joined and them became the manager.

“I enjoyed at Swindon but, when I left there, I had nothing on the table in English football. 

"I had been getting in the Chile squad during my last season but, because I had a bit of a reputation because of some of the things I mentioned previously – and that was fair, I hold my hands up – there was nothing for me to stay in England, which was what I wanted to do.

“The chance to go to Everton in Chile came up, and I felt it was a good chance to try something new. But, not long after I got there, there was a lot of social unrest. 

"There were demonstrations and, when you are 15 hours from home and things are happening that are new to you and you don’t fully understand, it is a bit scary.

“I was phoning home every day, but the club there were good and allowed me to come back to the UK even though I had a year on my contract. The season was cancelled and I had nothing planned but I felt it was best to head home.”

He would get the chance to return to England with Leyton Orient and he would enjoy three excellent seasons there.

Vigouroux helped them secure the League Two title in 2023 – playing alongside former Swan Darren Pratley. 

"Vigouroux’s showings during that season saw him win the club’s player of the year prize – which he had previously won in 2021 and 2022 - the League Two Golden Glove award, and be named in the PFA and EFL teams of the year for the division.

“I heard about the chance to join them literally as I was landing from Chile,” he said.

“Ross Embleton, who had also been at Swindon, was the manager and he gave me a call.

“I signed there and it was a big turning point for me. After leaving Swindon I had been at rock bottom, and I told myself if I ever got to play again in the English pyramid I had to grasp the chance with both hands.

“Those three years were so successful, I felt like I was in such a good place and I was able to get a move to the Premier League from a League Two title-winning side.

“That does not usually happen, and I got a year of working at that level every day, and now I am at a great club in Swansea. It’s a massive club and I have all these experiences I can call on, and I feel I am a better person for them.”

When Vigouroux joined the Swans, Williams spoke of the keeper’s bravery on the ball, an important facet of the game for a possession-based team.

And the stopper acknowledges the appeal of playing for a team with a clear identity.

“That was another reason I wanted to come here, because this is a club that is defined by the way they play,” he said.

“The fans appreciate the way the team plays, and as long as the team has the attitude to play that way them I am sure the fans will understand.

“That is really important, I want to be somewhere I can express myself but also be able to come up and make the big saves when they are needed in games.

“It’s the best of both worlds for a goalkeeper and I am really looking forward to it.”