By David Williams
Swansea City head coach Steve Cooper tapped into his England connections to land new striker Morgan Whittaker from Derby County.
Cooper – who used his background as England U17s boss to previously bring the likes of Marc Guehi, Rhian Brewster, Morgan Gibbs-White and Conor Gallagher to the club – did not coach Whittaker directly during his time with the FA.
But the 20-year-old was in the age group below and has worked with Cooper’s assistant Mike Marsh.
That smoothed the way for his arrival at the Liberty Stadium on deadline day, along with USA winger Paul Arriola, on loan from DC United, and full-back Kieron Freeman, who has moved from Swindon Town until the end of the season.
Whittaker made the move for an undisclosed fee, reported to be around £700,000, and signed a four-and-a-half-year deal.
“I have a good relationship with Marshy and I know Steve from our time in the England youth ranks, even though he was in charge of the team above my age group,” said Whittaker.
“He gives young players a chance to show what they can do, and that’s encouraging.
“I’m really looking forward to playing under the gaffer. It’s obviously a big change going from Derby to Swansea but knowing the gaffer and Marshy will help me settle.
“Coming to a new club with the players we have here, obviously I won’t go straight into the team. I must work hard for my place and show my team-mates, the coaches and the fans what I can bring to the team.”
Whittaker will be available for Friday’s fixture against Championship leaders Norwich, and is also able to feature in the FA Cup clash with Manchester City as he didn’t play for Derby in the competition.
He adds to Cooper’s forward options following injuries to Liam Cullen and Wayne Routledge.
Arriola has won 35 caps for the United States, scoring eight times, and helped them win the Gold Cup in 2017.
The 25-year-old, who can also play at either right wing-back or right-back, has spent the last four years with DC United in the MLS, scoring 14 goals in 72 appearances.
Prior to that, he started his career with Mexican side Club Tijuana. He spent four full seasons with the Liga MX side before DC United paid a club-record fee of $3million to secure his services.
The move for Wales international Freeman sees the 28-year-old move from League One Swindon, where he has been restricted to just two appearances this season. Jordan Garrick has moved in the other direction, on loan until the end of the season.
Freeman, who has one cap for Wales, came through the youth ranks at Nottingham Forest, making his senior debut in August 2011.
The defender spent three years with Midlands rivals Derby County between 2012 and 2015 before moving to Sheffield United in January 2015.
He went on to make over 100 appearances for the Blades, helping them win promotion from League One in 2017 before featuring 23 times as Chris Wilder’s men reached the Premier League in 2019.