Magic Mike can end the season in style, says Joel
MICHAEL Obafemi took his goal tally to 11 for the season with his strike for Swansea City against Middlesbrough.
The frontman has excelled in recent months, while a tactical tweak has ensured both he and top scorer Joel Piroe have been able to do maximum damage in the final third.
It represents a remarkable turnaround for ex-southampton man Obafemi, who netted only once in his first 14 appearances for the club.
And Joel Latibeaudiere has revealed that the 21-year-old has let his guard down of late after initially struggling to settle in South Wales.
“I think it was mainly just him, being himself around the boys,” said Latibeaudiere (circled, right).
“I think it was quite hard for him when he first came to Swansea, being a London boy, coming all the way to Wales.
“He’s let his guard down. You can see it when he comes into training, he’s happier and I just think it’s showing on the pitch what he can do because he’s got so much ability.
“He’s been great in the last few games.
“I just hope he finishes the season on a high and scores more goals.”
Obafemi boasts an impressive shot accuracy of 66 per cent, a figure bettered only by team-mate Piroe (68 per cent), Viktor Gyokeres (67 per cent) and Matt Godden (71 per cent) when it comes to players in the Championship who have reached double figures for goals this season.
It’s perhaps telling that 10 of his 11 goals for Swansea have come since February, with the striker himself admitting his target was to hit double figures this term – an achievement he reached in the 4-4 draw at Reading earlier this month.
Russell Martin says Obafemi now goes into matches expecting to score goals, such are his increased levels of confidence.
“He’ll probably be frustrated he hasn’t scored another one or two today,” said Martin after the draw with Middlesbrough.
“He’s got really high standards. He expects to score for his team.
“What he’s doing out of possession, he just took a bit of time to work us out and for us to work him out.
“He has a great relationship with us as a group, he understands what is required and what we want.
“He’s really bought into it. I’m really pleased he’s getting rewards for his hard work and his patience.
“He’s just another one we just need to keep growing with him and keep making sure we improve the bits he needs to really work on and make sure we really play to his strengths.
“Joel Piroe’s certainly doing that. The connection they’ve built up has been brilliant.”