The Swansea City academy products set for World Cup action
Swansea City due Joe Allen and Ben Cabango have been named in the Wales squad for the World Cup in Qatar.
But, in addition to the midfield and defender, there are also four other players in the 26-man party who have come through the Swansea City academy pathway.
Connor Roberts, Joe Rodon, Ben Davies and Daniel James all spent time in the Swans pathway system at Landore meaning that nearly a quarter of Rob Page’s final selection are Swansea City products.
Here we run through those six players, and their Swansea City stories.
Joe Allen
The 32-year-old remains a heavily influential figure at club and international level, having come through the ranks with the Swans, and is now back at his boyhood club.
Handed his first-team debut as a 16-year-old by Roberto Martinez, the midfielder went from strength to strength and, by the second half of the 2008-09 season, he was seeing regular game time at Championship level while still a teenager.
Allen’s influence continued to grow and he was an integral part of the promotion-winning side from the 2010-11 season, and continued to impress throughout the club’s debut season in the Premier League.
A move to Liverpool with Brendan Rodgers followed in the summer of 2012 before Allen made the switch to Stoke on the back of his outstanding displays at Euro 2016, where he helped Wales reach the semi-finals.
Allen won his first cap against Estonia in May 2009, and has since made 71 further appearances for his country. He was a key part of the successful qualifying campaign and is one of the key senior players in the Wales squad, alongside the likes of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey.
He represented Team GB at the 2012 Olympics, and was named in the team of the tournament for Euro 2016 after his superb showings in France.
Ben Cabango
The centre-half joined the Swans at the age of 14 and played his 100th senior game in club colours back April when he lined up against AFC Bournemouth at the Swansea.com Stadium.
He has become an important member of the squad and one of the first names on the team sheet as he’s continued to make strides under head coach Russell Martin.
Cabango captained the Swans at every age-grade level he played at, while he enjoyed a successful loan spell with TNS in 2018, which saw him score in the Champions League.
The now 22-year-old was handed his first-team debut in the Carabao Cup clash with Northampton Town in 2019. His subsequent Championship bow at Huddersfield saw him become the first player born in the 21st century to play for the club in league action.
He won the first of his five caps to date against Finland in September 2020, and has made the cut for the World Cup on the back of a recent impressive showing against Poland in the Nations League.
Ben Davies
Davies initially joined the Swans at the age of seven before moving to Denmark for three years with his family.
When they returned to south Wales, Davies returned to Swansea City and continued his development.
The defender made his debut as a 19-year-old in 2012, being handed an opportunity by Michael Laudrup after Neil Taylor had suffered a broken ankle in a draw with Sunderland.
His performances belied his age, and he would prove an accomplished and reliable performer as Swansea won the League Cup to claim their first major honour, and secured a top-half finish in the Premier League.
Davies remained a regular the following season, playing his part in the Europa League adventure, but then made the move to Tottenham in the summer of 2014.
He was an outstanding performer at Euro 2016 before missing the semi-final against Portugal through suspension. He now has 74 caps for his country and put in arguably his best performance in a Wales shirt during victory over Ukraine in the World Cup play-off final.
Connor Roberts
Defender Connor Roberts joined the Swans at the age of nine, and surpassed 150 appearances for the club before making the move to Burnley in the summer of 2021.
A Premier League 2 Division 2 and Premier League Cup winner with the under-23s in 2017, Roberts was given his first-team chance at his hometown club by Carlos Carvalhal in January of 2018; making his debut in an FA Cup tie at Wolves before making his Premier League bow as a substitute at Newcastle.
Roberts has won 41 caps for his country and has so far scored three goals including a memorable finish against Turkey in the Euro 2020 finals to all but seal the team’s progression from the group stages of the competition.
Is now a nailed-on starter for his country and was among those to impress in the crucial victory over Ukraine.
Joe Rodon
The defender from Llangyfelach first joined the club’s ranks at the age of eight.
A former Swans season-ticket holder, Rodon progressed through the ranks and got his first exposure to the first-team set up when he was named on the bench for an FA Cup tie at Oxford in January 2016.
He was again an unused substitute for the Premier League fixture at Arsenal in 2017, but was handed his debut by Graham Potter in a home win over Preston North End in August 2019.
Rodon went from strength to strength, despite suffering injury setbacks along the way, and was one of the first names on the team sheet when fit.
His impressive poise on the ball and physical prowess saw him targeted and signed by Premier League side Tottenham in October 2020.
He has 30 Wales caps often lining up alongside fellow former-Swan Ben Davies in the side’s defence.
He is currently on loan at Ligue 1 club Rennes.
Daniel James
Speedster James joined Swansea’s academy from Hull in 2015, and wasted little time making an impression with his pace and trickery.
He struck up an effective understanding with the likes of Oli McBurnie at under-23 level, and was rewarded with a goalscoring first-team debut in the FA Cup rout of Notts County in 2018.
A league debut followed under Graham Potter and James soon began to mark himself out as one of the most exciting players in the Championship.
Stunning solo goals against Brentford and Stoke City just added to his burgeoning reputation, and he would eventually make the move to Manchester United in the summer of 2019.
By then he had already been capped by Wales, making his senior international bow in a friendly against Albania in November 2018.
James – who had featured for Wales at the Toulon Tournament in 2017 – scored on his competitive debut against Slovakia, and has won 38 caps.
He is currently on loan at Fulham from Leeds United.
Ollie Cooper
The 22-year-old will be a travelling standby for the 26-man squad, and he will join clubmates Joe Allen and Ben Cabango on the flight to Qatar for the tournament on Tuesday.
The Swans academy product has enjoyed an outstanding breakthrough season at Championship level, scoring three goals and claiming an assist in 16 league appearances.
His call-up to the travelling party makes him the seventh player to come through the Swans academy pathway who will be heading to the global showpiece.