‘Championship - at very least’: Soaring status for long-serving Portsmouth favourite hitting new heights
The former Arsenal man is going from strength to strength in the Championship this term.
Zak Swanson is now fulfilling his Pompey promise as the quality of his displays breaks new levels.
And Blues boss John Mousinho believes the long-serving favourite can establish himself as a top Championship performer - as a minimum.
Mousinho on Swanson: ‘Make himself really good Championship right-back - at very least’
Mousinho acknowledged Swanson’s strong performances have arrived at an ideal moment, as Terry Devlin attempts to build back to his best form after injury.
The 26-year-old capped another strong showing against Sheffield United on Wednesday night, with an early goal-of-the-season contender in the 3-2 win at Fratton Park.
Swanson is now into his fifth season at PO4, with Connor Ogilvie the only established pro who has been around longer.
The former Arsenal man’s displays are now at a consistently high and intense level, with his boss seeing a player now fulfilling his potential.
Mousinho said: ‘Swanny has been really good and I really like what I’m seeing of him.
‘We’ve always known forever and a day that Zak has that potential to go and make himself a really good Championship right-back - at the very least.
‘I think he’s had a really interesting time this season, in terms of positions.
‘He started off at left-back before we brought Jayden in and then moved over to the right, which I think has been the right move and he’s played really, really well there.’
Swanson’s impressive displays have arrived at a time where Devlin’s form has fluctuated, after storming to player of the season plaudits last term.
A hamstring injury picked up against Leicester City in April curtailed the 22-year-old’s campaign, with Mousinho seeing the journey back from that injury as a factor in not yet hitting such huge highs once again.
Mousinho added: ‘It’s good to have options. What we didn’t have at the start of the season is too many options.
‘We had Terry and Swanny and Terry’s just taken a moment to get back to fitness after that injury at the end of last season.
‘He played in pretty much every game at the end of last year, for the first time in his career he’d had that consistent run of games - playing for Northern Ireland in every game of the international break as well.
‘Ultimately that was maybe his undoing, because he’d started pretty much every game since January and then went away in that March international break and played a couple of games for Ireland.
‘He didn’t have a break and then played consistently up to that Leicester game, where he got that injury.
‘The Leicester game came off the back of Middlesbrough away and Ipswich on the Wednesday night - massively high-intensity games.
‘We had the awards ceremony where Terry swept the board and then we had the game on the Saturday.
‘Unfortunately that was the end picking up an injury in the fourth-to-last game of the season.
‘It’s taken him a while to get back off the back of that and that’s absolutely fine. In the meantime, that’s a good battle to have.’