Nobody would have expected to see Swansea City earning a status as a Premier League team for one more season. The Wales-based club had a jittery journey in the recently concluded season as the Wales club have been battling with relegation throughout this season. The appointment of Paul Clement proved to be a worthy one as the former Bayern Munich assistant coach lifted all his lids to keep the Swans in the English top tier.
Little bit of luck and some late flurry of form managed to do the work for them. Gylfi Sigurdsson and Fernando Llorente have emerged as their saviours in this critical situation as the both the players have been able to chip in with their valuable contributions. The ouster of Bob Bradley and Francesco Guidolin had put tremendous pressure on Clement to deliver and he did just that. Swansea overcame their six-game winless run with five wins out of four to avoid the drop.
Gylfi Sigurdsson
Sigurdsson fine-tuned his performance under Clement and once again has proved why he is one of the best-attacking midfielders in the Premier League right now. Clement used him heavily to get the best out of the Icelandic playmaker.
Nine goals and 13 assists for a team which has been submerged deep into the relegation zone speak volumes about his quality. He scored goals, set up goals and was probably the only source of creativity in the squad. When the team was struggling it was him who enlightened the path with his striking display. He combined well with the other Swansea players to revive the team’s overall form.
Fernando Llorente
Swansea wouldn’t have survived without Llorente’s goals. Sigurdsson’s name will come up first but one cannot undermine his contribution to the club. Llorente played a huge role as his 15 goals made the difference for Clement’s side. He rounded up his striking ability with some delightful headers and the club would be grateful to him for his antics. When he hasn’t scored he has been a constant menace to the opposition defence as he drew attention to ease the pressure on other players.
Alfie Mawson
Swansea’s problem has been their defence as they shipped in a lot more goals than what was expected. But Alfie Mawson remained the only defender who showed some resistance. The 23-year-old had a tremendous debut season in the Premier League as the idea of bringing him up to the first team has paid rich dividends.
