SWANSEA CITY HAVE appointed England U17s World Cup-winning boss Steve Cooper as their new head coach on a three-year contract.
The Championship club were seeking a replacement for Graham Potter, who left to take over Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion last month after just one season at the Liberty Stadium.
Welshman Cooper, 39, has been named Potter’s successor in what will be his first senior role after stints with the academies at Wrexham and Liverpool preceded a post working with England’s youth teams.
He was in charge of the England Under-17 side that beat Spain in the 2017 World Cup final, with Manchester City’s Phil Foden, Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi and Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho all starring in that tournament.
This opportunity is something I’ve been working towards my whole life, certainly since I started coaching 22 years ago,” Cooper said in quotes published on the club’s official website.
“I’m extremely grateful to Swansea for giving me this chance. I’m really excited about the challenge ahead.”
Swansea City chairman, Trevor Birch, added: “We are excited and delighted with the appointment.
“Together with Leon (Britton) and Alan (Curtis) we went through a long and thorough interview process covering a lot of very good candidates. The quality was extremely high, which speaks volumes about the attractiveness of the opportunity and how well respected this football club is within the game.
At the forefront of our thinking was the appointment of a head coach who was hungry, ambitious, had a clear track record of playing our style of football, plus a pedigree to work with and develop young, talented players.
“Steve matched all those requirements in abundance and his views, coaching ethos and presentation were extremely compelling.”
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
