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Swansea City's Lawrence Vigouroux Aims To Show Burnley What They're Missing

Ian MitchelmoreIan Mitchelmore14 March 2025
Swansea City goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux. Pic: Alamy

Swansea City goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux. Pic: Alamy

Swansea City host prmotion-chasing Burnley on Saturday, two clubs with deep links from past and present.

Lawrence Vigouroux joked that he would not be booed by Burnley fans when Swansea City travelled to Turf Moor in November as the Clarets faithful would not even know who he is.

The goalkeeper joined the Swans from the Lancashire outfit last summer after just one season with Burnley - failing to make a single first team appearance for the club in that time.

He was unfortunate to be on the losing side on November 10 as Jay Rodriguez's controversial 94th minute penalty earned Scott Parker's side victory over Luke Williams' men.

Vigouroux now welcomes Burnley on Saturday knowing that the Swans have so far taken maximum points without conceding a goal from their two home matches under interim boss Alan Sheehan.

The Clarets have made plenty of headlines themselves this season for being hard to score against, and they make the trip to south Wales having conceded just 11 times in 37 Championship matches so far this season.

Sheehan may well need a defensive reshuffle this weekend as he will be without defender Hannes Delcroix - with the Belgian international ineligible to face his parent club. 

But there will most likely be a very familiar name in the opposition ranks at the Swansea.com Stadium as Connor Roberts - fresh from signing a new two-year deal with the Clarets - is set to line-up against his boyhood club.

Earlier this season, the Wales international stated he wanted to play for the Swans again before retiring, and a return to his hometown appeared possible this year given he was due to be out of contract in the summer.

The 29-year-old has started all but one of Burnley's league fixtures since fully recovering from an arm injury sustained during Wales’ 2-1 Nations League win against Montenegro in September.

READ MORE: Lawrence Vigouroux Is Enjoying Life As Swansea City’s No.1 No.1

The current squads demonstrate just how strong a link Swansea share with Burnley. Former Swans loanee Bashir Humphreys has been a regular under Parker this season while Jonjo Shelvey joined the club in January after being released by Turkish side Eyüpspor.

Jack Cork returned to Turf Moor - following two loan spells there from Chelsea earlier in his career - on a permanent deal from Swansea in 2017.

The central midfielder - who made 267 appearances for Burnley - recently returned to the Clarets in an academy coach/player role after being released by the senior side last summer.

Remember Michael Obafemi? The striker who scored 20% of his 15 Swansea goals against rivals Cardiff remains on Burnley's books, although he is currently on loan at Plymouth.

Former centre-back Keith Lowe had brief loan spells with both clubs.

The late Lenny Johnrose - who died in 2022 aged 52 after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease - also made an impact with both clubs - notably scoring in Swansea's crucial 4-2 victory over Hull City on the final day of the 2002-03 season as the Swans secured their Football League status.

A quick look to the Vetch Field dug-out on that memorable occasion leads you to the Welsh footballing icon that is Brian Flynn - the man who masterminded Swansea's dramatic escape.

Now residing in Burnley, the 69-year-old started his professional career with the Clarets and returned to Turf Moor for a second stint following a loan spell from Leeds.

But few contributions to both sides combined are as great as those of Leighton James.

The winger scored 81 goals in 399 appearances across three spells with Burnley.

James played a starring role as Swansea secured a first-ever promotion to the top-flight in 1981 under John Toshack.

He also won two Welsh Cups with the Swans - where he scored 27 goals in 98 league games.

The 54-cap Wales international sadly passed away in April last year, but always spoke fondly of the two sides he represented with such distinction.

Now, as the pair meet for the second time this term, it will be Vigouroux bidding to ensure the Burnley supporters travel back to Lancashire ruing the day they let him move to south Wales.

For the visitors, Roberts' professional pride will see him desperate to overcome the emotional attachment he has to the club he adores so much.

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