Swans boss eyes new forward dimension
Steve Cooper has tipped loan signing Rhian Brewster to give his attacking options a new dimension in the final 20 games of the campaign.
Brewster arrived on loan from European and Club World Cup champions Liverpool on Tuesday and trained with his new team-mates for the first time today.
The move sees Cooper link up again with Brewster, with the pair having worked together during England Under-17s’ successful World Cup campaign in 2017.
Brewster not only lifted the World Cup trophy but also won the tournament's Golden Boot after his eight goals fired England’s youngsters to glory in India.
His arrival at the Liberty bolsters Cooper’s striker options, which also include top scorer Andre Ayew and Borja, while Aldo Kalulu led the line last time out against QPR in the FA Cup.
With Sam Surridge having been recalled by Bournemouth after an impressive stint in SA1, Cooper now feels he has a range of different options to select from.
“Rhian’s a very dynamic and explosive player who can catch the eye,” said Cooper. “He’s always scored goals but he works really hard too, and those are the kind of characteristics we are looking for on and off the ball.
“He is a little bit different to the kind of strikers we’ve had this season with Sam (Surridge), Borja and Andre.
“This has the makings of being a really exciting move.
“He is capable of getting the fans on their feet, and that is what we want. We play in a way which gives the forward players an opportunity to attack. We are not a team that will sit off and wants to be in its own half – we want to be in the other half creating opportunities to score.
“He’s a talented player and is a player I know very well through my time with England. Not only is he a positive addition as a footballer but he’s also a positive addition as a person because he’s a really good character with a brilliant mentality.
“I’m really looking forward to working with him again.”
Brewster finds himself in an unique situation in his first few days in south west Wales.
He featured in Liverpool’s Merseyside derby victory over Everton last Sunday, with the 19-year-old coming off the bench as the Reds won the FA Cup tie 1-0.
A week later he could find himself involved in the South Wales derby as the Swans head to Cardiff City.
And Cooper explained it was important to get the deal done as quickly as possible in order to give Brewster time to settle into his new surroundings.
“It was important we got this over the line with as much preparation time as possible,” said the Swans head coach.
“He can now be part of our preparations and by the time the weekend comes around he will be settled and focused on the games ahead.
“If Rhian gets it right then he will be a threat. He thrives off scoring goals and he will tell you that’s his main attribute and we want that to be the case here.
“We have, at times, relied on Andre to get us goals and it’s great we have him to do that, but at the same time we want goal threats from all over the pitch.
“Hopefully Rhian will add that and will be pushing on the rest of the players along with Borja to get their tallies up because you can’t rely on just one person for goals.”
