Alfie finds out just in his first top-flight
WHEN Alfie Mawson got his dream move to the Premier League last August, he could barely have imagined what a turbulent nine months lay ahead of him.
At face value it was the achievement of a lifelong ambition, coming barely three years after he had been plying his trade in Conference South and helping out on his father’s fruit and veg stall in Ealing.
But the manner in which Swansea’s season threatened to unravel spectacularly must have had the 23-year-old wondering if the dream was becoming a nightmare.
By the time he had racked up 10 first-team appearances there had been four different faces – including caretaker boss Alan Curtis – at the helm.
In the midst of it all was a first cap for the England Under-21 side, who he hopes to represent in this summer’s European Championships, his head must have been spinning.
“It has been a big year for me and a lot has happened in that time,” he said.
“Obviously when I signed I would not have expected to work under so many different managers in such a short space of time.
“It felt like it was all happening very quickly, and the results show we had a really tough time of it.
“But you are always going to be difficult moments in football, and I just wanted to make the very best of the opportunity I had been given. You never take it for granted.
“We felt we were capable of doing better than we were showing, and the performances under the new manager have shown that.”
Handed the number six shirt vacated by Ashley Williams’ move to Everton, it did not take long for Mawson to make an impact.
Word soon got out about the impression he was making in training, and his debut - marked by a clean sheet - would come in Bob Bradley’s first home game in charge against Watford.
“That was a special day, to be able to say you are a Premier League player, that you have played at that level is something every player aspires to, and I am no different,” he said.
“I appreciated Bob Bradley having the faith in me to put me in the team. It was a big challenge for me but one I relished.”
A spell in and out of the side fol- lowed, but he would become a fixture in the side under Paul Clement. Mawson and Federico Fernandez struck up an improving partnership.
The number of goals conceded during the second half of the season dropped off considerably as the pair performed solidly, although Mawson did have to endure the consequences of a crucial error against Watford, which allowed Etienne Capoue to score the only goal at a key stage in the survival fight.
It spoke volumes for his character that he responded with a string of excellent performances, including an outstanding display in the victory over Everton that put Swansea’s fate back in their own hands following Hull’s defeat to Sunderland.
His performances were enough to secure him the young player of the year award at the club’s end-of-season ceremony, while his superb volley against Leicester was nominated in the goal of the season category.
All in all, it was a fine way to round off such an impressive campaign, but Mawson does not come across as the sort of man to rest on his laurels.
“To win an award at the end of the season is a nice way to round it off,” he said.
“You look at the performances of the a lot of the younger players in the squad, and a lot of the lads who did