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"He could play for them [Barcelona], no question.

"He's got the lot. He's technically good enough, sees a pass, can pop it [the ball] round the corner and only Jake Livermore runs more than him in a game in the first team."

Those are the words of former Tottenham coach Tim Sherwood back in 2011. The subject of his praise? Tom Carroll.

"He's one of those who has needed a bit more time to develop physically," Sherwood added, way back when. "He could have got released and I'm sure there are lots of Tom Carrolls who have been released. He's never going to be giant but he will grow and hopefully not look like the mascot anymore."

Sherwood was youth team coach back then but later progressed to first-team manager at White Hart Lane and remained a fan of Carroll. In 2014, when Carroll was on loan with QPR, Sherwood said: "We miss that player - I'm not saying (Mousa) Dembele can't do it because he can pick it up and he can dribble – but we miss someone who moves that ball and passes it between the lines very quickly, and he assists the assister.

"Gareth Bale needed that ball very quickly and I think Luka Modric got it to him very quickly. I think Tom Carroll was that player - he can do that, absolutely. I tried to bring Tom back (in January), it just wasn't possible."

Last Friday, Carroll had his contract with Swansea City terminated by mutual consent. The news was announced tagged on to the Borja Baston to Aston Villa announcement - telling in itself.

Still only 27, he should be hitting his prime. So what on earth happened to him at the Liberty Stadium?

Why he left Spurs

Judging by Sherwood's comments about Carroll in his early career, the Englishman was obviously seen as a highly-promising prospect in Enfield. Beginning with Spurs under-16s, he signed his first professional contract in 2010 but had to use loan moves in order to get any game-time to aid his development in first-team football.

Spells at Leyton Orient and Derby County followed, at which he did get minutes, but his quest for involvement at Tottenham was blocked simply by better players. To be fair to Carroll, not many youngsters could dislodge the mercurial Modric. He did, though, feature in the Europa League under Harry Redknapp and when Andre Villas-Boas succeeded the veteran manager, he saw something in the midfielder and gave him a run in the side. He featured 14 times for Spurs that term and that earned him a move to QPR to link up once again with Redknapp.

A better, temporary move to Swansea followed and those 13 appearances under Garry Monk stayed with the Swansea hierachy. They wanted to keep him, but a certain Mauricio Pochettino was now in charge in north London and he, like Villas-Boas, saw potential in Carroll.

But the Spurs crowd didn't. He was often used as a scapegoat by supporters in poor performances - "if you’re starting Tom Carroll, what do you expect?" our sister title Football London reported fans as saying in 2017. The end game was nigh for him in the English capital.

Move to Swans

Carroll's return to South Wales - this time permanently - started with a bang.

Beleaguered Swansea, bottom of the table and managed by the newly appointed Paul Clement, were travelling to Anfield to face Liverpool just hoping to keep the score level respectable. The Swans had just been hammered 4-0 by Arsenal on their own patch and things were looking bleak. Really bleak.

Carroll had penned a three-and-a-half-year contract in a deal worth £4.5million on January 17 and just four days later he was in the starting XI on Merseyside.

The new arrival was everywhere, playing his trademark neat and tidy short passes and gave Swansea a zip they had been lacking in the bizarre absence of Leon Britton.

It was Carroll's assist for Fernando Llorente's second that made everyone sit up and take notice. On the run, the then 24-year-old hit a first-time cross from the left that was just begging to be attacked. The Spaniard rose the highest and powered his header past Simon Mignolet.

Swansea would go on to win the game 3-2 and the result set the tone for a remarkable survival battle, in which Carroll played no small part.

He would score the second in a vital 2-0 win over Stoke City in April 2017 to keep Swansea's chances of staying up alive. It appeared that Carroll had finally found a home.

A false dawn and Swansea's decline

Swansea did indeed preserve their top-flight status. But in truth, they were in a mess. A real mess. Their famed passing style was fading fast and their recruitment was all over the shop. In the summer of 2017 they brought in Roque Mesa, Renato Sanches and Sam Clucas - three midfielders in Carroll's position - for big, big money. All three struggled, though, and Carroll kept his place in the side, first under Clement, then under his successor Carlos Carvalhal, but Swansea were a team of individuals at this stage and not a collective unit.

Supporters in these parts began to see what Spurs fans had been saying all along about Carroll; he was slight, easily knocked off the ball, crab-like in his movement. In many ways he was the ultimate arm-round-the-shoulder type of player, and in a relegation fight that trait can be perceived as weakness.

In one particularly hostile game at the Liberty with the crowd getting anxious about the team's lack of penetration and stagnant movement, Carroll gestured to the stands to stay calm. It wasn't the wisest of acts.

However, it would be completely unfair to highlight Carroll in Swansea's relegation season. There were a myriad of problems playing out at the club at the time, some of which are still being felt and addressed today.

Despite starting the Championship campaign in Graham Potter's plans, he lost his place and suffered dips in form, confidence and fitness - more of that below.

Disastrous Villa loan and injury nightmare

At around 10.55pm on January 31, 2019, it emerged that Carroll would be joining Swansea's Championship rivals Aston Villa on loan. It certainly raised eyebrows. It was a move with a view to a permanent deal, too. Eyebrows were raised even higher.

But he could have parked his motor in the short-stay car park as his spell in the Midlands was a disaster. He played just 35 minutes of football as a hip complaint ruined his season. Asked about Carroll's situation at time, Villa boss Dean Smith said: "Unfortunately Tom has had a bit of a stop-start time with us.

"He got injured in his first game and was coming back from a hip injury. He has broken down a couple of times since. But he is a fantastic footballer. We all saw that when he came on against Derby. That is why we brought him in. He is one who can keep the ball ticking. He very rarely loses possession and can see a forward pass. That is why we wanted to bring him in.

"But it has been a little bit stop-start so far for him and ourselves."

It wasn't so much stop-start - it was more of a grinding halt. The hip injury that blighted his early season under Potter needed surgery, and his loan was terminated.

Swansea return and a meek exit

Back in SA1, and another changing of the guard saw Steve Cooper replace Potter in the dugout. Carroll started the season under the new man already at a massive disadvantage, playing catch-up from the get-go. It's difficult to impress a new manager from the treatment table. He didn't return to the first-team fold until late September and even then it was just a few minutes here and there. In November, Cooper said this of Carroll, almost sounding the death knell for him. "He's training well. He's part of the midfield four of number eights we have available," Cooper explained.

"We've no complaints with Tom, but my job is to try to pick the right team and the right balance to play the next game. Sometimes players will feature, and sometimes they won't. It's as simple as that really. But he's got a great attitude and trains well and I've got no doubt that when called upon he'll be more than ready."

But Cooper didn't call on him. His last appearance came in the 5-1 drubbing against QPR in the FA Cup. An embarrassing day in which to bow out, which is highly unfortunate for a player who no doubt possesses quality.

Now a free agent, it will be up to Carroll to prove his fitness problems are in his past. Because, at just 27, he still, surely, has a footballing future.