Steve Cooper | Ben Wilmot a quality addition

Swansea City head coach Steve Cooper believes Ben Wilmot will prove to be a quality addition to his squad.

Defender Wilmot, 19, joined the Swans on a season-long loan from Watford on Thursday, and trained with his new team-mates at the Liberty Stadium.

The teenager, who featured at first-team level for the Hornets and Serie A side Udinese last term, is in contention to make his Swansea bow in Saturday’s final pre-season friendly against Atalanta.

And, while still young in terms of years, Cooper feels Wilmot’s experience at a high level will prove a real asset to his squad for the campaign ahead.

“We are delighted that Ben has joined us, for such a young player he has some good appearances behind him and some good experiences that mean he is probably older than his age in many ways,” said Cooper.

“So we are really pleased and he will add a lot of quality to the defensive area, in particular. We look forward to working with him.

“His first session was on the stadium, which was good, and he now comes into the frame for the game at the weekend against Atalanta.

“His arrival is a positive step forward.”

Swansea already have Joe Rodon and Mike van der Hoorn as senior centre-back options, while Ben Cabango, Brandon Cooper and Cian Harries have all featured during pre-season.

And Cooper believes Wilmot’s arrival adds another layer of competition to the battle for starting roles at the back.

“We know we are going to play a lot of games this season so you need a good depth in the squad to be able to compete for the duration,” said Cooper.

“You want to have the best competition possible with everyone fit for every game and Ben joining us is a really good example of how players can put themselves in the frame and the more headaches I have on those things the better.

“I look forward to dealing with those situations going forward."