Phil SumblerFreddie Woodman, the goalkeeper on loan from Newcastle United, took plenty of plaudits for his performance in last night’s 1-0 win over Barnsley that gave us the advantage in our play off semi-final as we look to secure a place at Wembley.
Woodman was the Championship Golden Glove for this season after 20 clean sheets and, after his 21st last night, he will know that his 22nd on Saturday will see a Wembley appearance beckon and put the Swans just one game away from a return to the Premier League.
The keeper has been overly criticised this season by some sections of the Swans support but there were plenty of plaudits for him last night, both amongst Swans fans, managers, fans of other clubs and media plaudits alike.
Woodman is coming to the end of his second season on loan at Swansea but performances like last night will see him to be a man in demand this summer.
Steve Cooper: “I think first and foremost, all he’ll be focused on is keeping another clean sheet on Saturday,” said Cooper when asked about the goalkeeper’s display.
“He did play well tonight. He did his job.ย I thought his positional play was good. No time to think too much about it, it’s time to look forward.”
Freddie Woodman. Simply class that game. ๐ pic.twitter.com/gERbMgqNu4
— carwyn ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ท๓ ฌ๓ ณ๓ ฟ (@scfccarwyn) May 17, 2021
Sublime performance from Freddie Woodman last night.
His best in a Swansea shirt? #Swans #BarnsleyFC #NUFC pic.twitter.com/fx5kY5SS8i
— Ian Mitchelmore (@IanMitchelmore) May 18, 2021
The plaudits also arrived from Newcastle fans who were clear in their view that they wanted him at St James Park for next season based on this performance
We CANNOT sell Woodman to Swansea if they go up. He is something special #NUFC
— Louis (@Louis88340424) May 17, 2021
https://twitter.com/ShaunIrving_/status/1394393633521078279
And finally, having been linked with a potential move to Arsenal earlier this season, his performance was not going unnoticed by those in and around the Emirates either.
If Arsenal are after a keeper this summer, they needn't look too much further than Freddie Woodman. Even as competiton/not straight No. 1.
Calming presence and proactive reading of the game.
Solid performance for Swansea tonight.
— Pain In The Arsenal (@PainInThArsenal) May 17, 2021
