Cameron Toshack believes his young Swans can hold their own against the best in the Premier League next season.
The Swansea City Under 23s coach was full of praise for the club’s youngsters after they secured the Premier League 2 (Division 2) title at the Liberty Stadium on Monday with a point in a 2-2 draw against Wolves.
The result means the young Swans gain promotion to Division 1 next season to face the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham in the top tier of development football.
Daniel Strong gave the hosts the lead before Oli McBurnie levelled with a spectacular volley.
Duckens Nazon put the visitors back into the lead soon after the break. But George Byers brought the Swans level for the second time before Connor Levingston was sent off for fouling McBurnie.
Toshack, who has worked alongside Gary Richards this season to lead the team to success, believes the young Swans have what it takes to progress to first-team football.
“We are absolutely delighted to win the title,” he said. “Our players were clear from the start of the season that they wanted to win the league. They have tested themselves this season and achieved their goals.
“I am really pleased for them and all the staff behind the scenes. Everyone has worked really hard over the last nine months to achieve this.
“These young men are off to a flying start in their careers. They all have what it takes to become professional football players. To win the league title is something special, they will never ever forget this.
“Gary (Richards) and myself are just proud to have been part of it to help these young players along the way.
“How far can they go? It is all about the opportunities they get and whether they take them, but they certainly are doing themselves and the club proud in all the competitions they have featured in so far this season.”
The young Swans could lift more silverware this season with the side still competing in the Premier League Cup and International Cup.
“We still have two competitions to go and they will not be easy to win,” Toshack continued. “We will go back to the training ground and continue our hard work this week.
“But for our development set-up to now be challenging with the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Everton and Tottenham, is a big deal.
“It is a massive achievement for our academy, but it will be tough and our young players will have to prepare for that, but we will focus on the next few weeks before we start thinking about that.”