Coventry City win shows exactly why Swansea City took Burnley transfer gamble: View | OneFootball

Lawrence Vigouroux has proved an excellent signing for Swansea City since making the summer move for Burnley

Swansea City have made a bright start to their 2024/25 Championship campaign, and find themselves in a very respectful seventh place after six league fixtures.

Luke Williams' side don't have the biggest of squads, which could make it difficult to sustain a play-off push throughout the course of the season, but the Swans were shrewd in their summer recruitment to bring quality players to the club who didn't break the bank, and it means they have a competitive starting XI for Championship standards.

After losing Carl Rushworth in the summer following the expiration of his loan deal, Swansea were on the hunt for a new goalkeeper, and it looked like a tough ask to replace the Brighton man's quality, but on early showings it looks like they might have found a suitable replacement in Lawrence Vigouroux.

Vigouroux was brought to the club from Burnley having previously worked with Williams at Swindon Town, and he's been instrumental in Swansea's success in the early weeks of the season.

Lawrence Vigouroux gamble looks to have paid off for Swansea City

On the face of it, signing Vigouroux looked like a gamble by Swansea. He's 30, which isn't old for a goalkeeper, but hardly a youngster either, he had never played above League One level, and his last competitive game came in League Two for Leyton Orient back in May 2023, after failing to make a first-term appearance at Burnley.

The Camden-born goalkeeper had developed a reputation as one of the best goalkeepers in League Two after being named in the PFA Team of the Year, EFL Team of the Season and winning the Golden Glove award for the 2022/23 campaign, but Championship football is a big step-up, particularly after failing to make a competitive appearance during 2023/24 campaign.

However, since making the move to SA1, Vigouroux has shown exactly why he was so highly-rated at Leyton Orient, and has shown why Vincent Kompany decided to bring him to Burnley last summer, albeit as third choice.

The 30-year-old is yet to concede more than one goal in a game for Swansea this season, and has impressed in recent weeks, keeping a clean sheet against Norwich City, before making seven saves as Williams' side recorded an impressive win away to Coventry City.

Vigouroux had a Sofacore rating of 8.5 for the Swans' clash with the Sky Blues, making him the Player of the Match, and it's not just his shot-stopping abilities that have impressed supporters.

The former Leyton Orient man has a very impressive range of passing and is able to pick out teammates with passes that most midfielders would be proud of, and these passes help put Swansea on the front foot and into good attacking positions.

Vigouroux recently received a call-up to the Chile squad for their recent fixtures, and while he didn't get on the pitch to win his first cap, you feel it won't be too far away if he continues to impress at the Swansea.com Stadium.

Williams' decision to bring Vigouroux to the club despite his lack of Championship experience has proved an excellent one, and it looks like Swansea will reap the rewards of that gamble this season.

Lawrence Vigouroux has had to do things the hard way

Despite being on the books of both Tottenham and Liverpool as a youngster, Vigouroux has had to do it the hard way to become a Championship regular.

After leaving Liverpool in 2016, he became a regular at Swindon Town, working under current Swansea boss Williams, but he endured some tough days after leaving the County Ground in 2019.

He spent time with League of Ireland side Waterford, before joining Chilean Primera División side Everton de Viña del Mar, but he failed to make an appearance, and left the club after a couple of months amid civil unrest in the country.

This meant he returned to the UK in 2020 without a club, and it would have been hard to envisage Vigouroux becoming a Championship starter just four years later, but a spell with Leyton Orient got his career back on track, and subsequently earned him the move to Burnley last summer.

Having previously worked with Vigouroux, Williams knew what the Chilean youth international was capable of, and had no qualms about making him Swansea's first choice goalkeeper, despite his lack of Championship experience.

The 30-year-old openly admitted to the BBC that his lack of professionalism meant he perhaps didn't progress as he should have as a youngster, but those days are in the past now, and he's seizing the opportunity to play regularly at Championship level.

Having made it to the Championship the hard way, Vigouroux appears keen to show that he deserves to play at this level, and he's certainly done that with his performances in the early weeks of the season.

Despite being 30, you feel as if Vigouroux will continue to improve in the coming years, and after ticking the Championship off, he'll be looking to play Premier League football with Swansea.