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For Joe Rodon and his family this was a day a long time in the making, and a long time in the waiting.

From joining the Swansea City Academy at the age of eight, working and dreaming towards pulling on the famous white shirt of his hometown club.

Rodon, 20, is just about old enough to remember standing on the terraces at the Vetch cheering on the likes of his hero Lee Trundle, he has spent plenty of time in the stands at the Liberty Stadium.

Now, here he was out in the middle as the Jack Army cheered him on.

Having roared on his heroes from the sidelines, he was now one of those being backed to the hilt. Trundle was watching on too.

The pressure on a debutant at any club is considerable, particularly one so highly thought of for so long.

But add in the events of the past week and Rodon could have had further reason to feel the spotlight turning towards him.

Swansea’s decision to sell Federico Fernandez and Jordi Amat had come in for plenty of criticism, so whoever ended up starting at centre-half was always going to be under an element of additional scrutiny.

Thankfully for those who would have felt the wrath of supporters in a worst-case scenario, Rodon had a debut to savour. A day to be immensely proud of.

His performance ended up being something of a barometer for the day and the atmosphere.



There were times when you had to remind yourself that Rodon is still just 20 years of age, that this was his first outing at this level. His assuredness on the ball belied those tender years. There was no moment where he looked out of place.

It probably shouldn’t have been a surprise. After all he has skippered Swansea at various age-grade levels, as well as captaining Wales Under-21s. He has trained alongside Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey with the Wales senior squad.

The likes of (under-23 coaches) Cameron Toshack, Gary Richards, (academy manager) Nigel Rees and Alan Tate certainly wouldn’t have been surprised, they have not wanted to shout too loudly about Rodon so as not to put unfair expectations on his young shoulders, but they have never been short of positive words when it comes to the centre-half.

This time last year Rodon was being linked with Premier League champions Manchester City, being touted as 'the Welsh John Stones'.

And when the testing periods and challenges inevitably arrived on a sodden afternoon, Rodon and Mike van der Hoorn rose to them.

Lukas Nmecha tested him for speed early on, Rodon more than kept pace and beat the on-loan Manchester City man to the ball.

When there were contests to be won in the air, he invariably emerged on top, he was confident playing the ball out from the back even under pressure; as you would expect from a man schooled in ‘the Swansea Way’ for so long.

As debuts go this was one where he very much emerged on the swim rather than sink end of the equation.

To encounter Rodon in the aftermath of a clean sheet and win on his Swans bow was to observe a young man still trying to take in what a special day it had been.

He might not want to admit it, but there were tears in his eyes as he tried to put into words what the day had meant to him, and to his family who had spent the years shuttling him to and from training sessions and games all with afternoons like this in mind.

“It’s been all about patience and finally for me this day has come and it has all paid off and I am very grateful,” he said.

“I think I was eight when I joined the club, it has been a long journey and I want to do everything I can to be part of a future for the club that I hope can be bright because of the chance the club has given me.

“I will never be able to repay what my family has done for me. I love them to death, they have been there with me every step of the way with the support they have given me.

“I just cannot thank them enough for all the things they have done for me, and not just in football. It’s a blessing to have them.”

Rodon had been close to a first-team bow before. In fact he had been involved in league matchday squads twice in the past year.

He was an unused substitute in the Premier League defeat at Arsenal last term, and again at Sheffield United on the opening day of this campaign.

But Graham Potter - who only told Rodon of his selection following a final pre-match team meeting - had no hesitation in putting Rodon in against Preston, having also utilised the youngster’s abilities on the pre-season tour of Germany and Austria.

“To have a win and a clean sheet, that’s just what every defender wants,” he said.

“We are two wins from two now and I am glad for all the boys and all the staff because everyone here is working really, really hard.

“From day one the manager made clear the style he was looking to implement, and it was going to be that way or no way. He has just been brilliant with us so far.

“Personally, he has been great with me and you can see that paying off in the results, we are giving everything we can and we are all together.”

And what about the experience of playing in front of a crowd he has so often been a part of himself?

“The Jack Army are the best fans in the world, always right behind us and it just gives you that extra motivation to help us grind out those results,” he said as a huge grin spread out across his face.

Of course, it is early days for Rodon, just as it is for Potter and his staff in Swansea.

But, whatever happens in the future - and any career will invariably contain highs and lows - this was a day he can treasure and look back on with pride for years to come.