Swansea City boss Steve Cooper has said that the club 'believes in Yan Dhanda', after the 21-year-old scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Charlton Athletic in the Championship last night.
Dhanda was on hand to score his second Championship goal of the season in the 14th-minute of last night's win at the Liberty Stadium.
He and his Swansea teammates put in a good shift against a youthful Charlton side who gave it their all - Bowyer was without 13 first-team players last night, and was forced to play a crop of academy players.
Speaking to www.swanseacity.com about Dhanda's performance, Cooper said:
"We believe in Yan, he has just signed a new contract and that tells you we have that belief in him."
The club offered Dhanda a two-year extension to his contract just before Christmas, which will keep him at the club until 2022.
“He has had to be patient for his starts but, to be fair to him, when he is given the nod he delivers," explained Cooper.
“It was an excellent goal and I thought he played well in the first half. Naturally he did run out of a bit of steam, as he can do at this stage of his development."
Joining from Liverpool's youth academy in 2018, he was a prominent figure for their development squad and a prolific midfielder, netting five in 18 appearances for Liverpool's U23 squad in the 2017/18 season.
He's had to be patient with Cooper this season though, but with a new contract and a winning goal to his name, he looks set to have a strong second-half of the season.
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“We know what he can do, he is capable of that," added Cooper. "He can catch the eye in training with his technical ability. In the end I thought he did a good job for the team.”
Swansea have now won three of their last six outings in the Championship, and moved back into the top-six with their win last night.
The verdict
It's been a while for Swansea fans to see the best of Dhanda but under Cooper this season, he looks to be coming into his own.
A well-taken goal last night will give him a lot of confidence ahead of the second-half of the campaign, and he could turn into a really crucial player for the Swans.