Swansea City head coach Vitor Matos believes versatile defender Filip Lissah will have a key role to play for his side this season after shining in the 1-0 friendly win over CD Leganes at the Swansea.com Stadium.
The 21-year-old academy graduate looked a steady presence alongside regular Cameron Burgess at the heart of Swansea’s defence in club captain Ben Cabango’s absence against the Spaniards, leading to praise from the Swans boss.
“Fil is a wonderful talent who can play in probably all positions of the back four and perform,” said Matos.
“They [Cabango and Stephen Welsh] had a fever and that. Nothing major, but it happened yesterday.
“So, we had a good new double at the centre half. Fil did well. I was really impressed. He looks like a player. Good potential, good kid.”
Lissah, who spent last season gaining experience on loan at Scottish Premiership outfit Falkirk, is seen as a useful option in the Swans backline with his ability to play both right back and centre half.
The Bairns young player of the year made 30 appearances in the Scottish top flight last season at full back and will provide competition for first choice Josh Key, with fellow academy starlet Sam Parker moving on loan to League One Wycombe Wanderers to aid his own development.
“That is the project with Fil,” continued the Swans boss.
“We have Josh as well, so we have cover on the right side.
“I think having Fil coming from a loan, giving him the opportunity he deserves with us and then having Sam, we can then expose him to a project and see him develop.
“We have people in the club who are responsible for that part. It is really good when we can have this kind of department, which is Jon Grey.
“I think it worked quite well with a few loans. It’s something that we decided as a club that is important for his development to have this game exposure.”
Matos is keen to blood several of Swansea’s impressive youth players within his first-team squad to complement the solid base of senior players that finished the Championship season strongly in 11th position.
With the summer senior additions of Moussa Yeo, Elijah Just and Joseph Opoku, who scored the winner on Saturday against CD Leganes, adding extra creativity to the Swans attack, Matos is pleased with the extra dynamic to his side.
“It’s always good to score, especially when it’s your first game at the stadium, so it was really nice to see,” Matos said on Opoku.
“I think all of the new players performed well. They’re still adapting to each other and understanding how to take advantage of each other’s qualities, and that was important.
“It was good to see that what made us stronger is still there, and that’s quite important. The mentality, the character, the commitment and the togetherness were all there to see.
“Pre-season has been important to get the players back in terms of fitness and ideas, and then, step by step, we’ve been adding the new players.
“I’m really positive, there were a lot of good things to see from the game.”
The Swans open their season against Birmingham City in the League Cup at the Swansea.com Stadium next weekend.
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