Vigouroux determined to seize Swansea opportunity

Lawrence Vigouroux accepts that his lack of professionalism slowed progress in the early stages of his football career.

Now older, wiser and more confident, he believes he can thrive in the Championship and the 30-year-old is determined to make the most of his opportunity at Swansea City.

“I put my hands up, I wasn’t the most professional guy when I was younger,” Vigouroux told BBC Sport Wales.

“That’s something that I feel has held me back in terms of being able to play at this level and [helps explain why] It took me so long to get here.”

Vigouroux insists he “always felt ready” to play in the upper echelons of English football.

“But there are other things that matter in football – how you are as a guy on a daily basis, how you act, how punctual you are,” he added.

“When I was younger, I took these things for granted and had a reputation for being a good goalkeeper, but… there was always a but. That was a big problem for me.”

Vigouroux is not a man who tries to sweep past mistakes under the rug.

The goalkeeper’s belief is that the lessons learned in his youth will help the cause as he looks to establish himself as Swansea’s number one.

“We have some very good goalkeepers here and I will have to try and fight to win the shirt,” said Vigouroux.

“So I just want to express myself on the field. I’m happy to be in a place where I feel like I’m able to do that.”

Vigouroux will start when Swansea begin their new Championship campaign at Middlesbrough this Saturday.

Apart from a brief spell in Chile, it will be his first senior appearance at any level above League One.

The path to Wales began in the youth ranks at Brentford, before a three-year spell as a youth player at Tottenham Hotspur during the reigns of Andre Villas-Boas and Tim Sherwood.

In 2014, he transferred to Liverpool, then managed by former Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers, and played regularly for the Reds’ under-21s before joining Swindon Town, initially on loan, in 2015.

Vigouroux got his chance as a starter at the County Ground, playing 130 games, many of them under the guidance of Luke Williams, who is his boss once again at Swansea.

Still, he found himself at “rock bottom” as he struggled to find a club that had been let go by the Robins.

“I wanted to stay in England but I didn’t get offers because of the way people saw me,” said Vigouroux.

“It was true, so I have to put my hands up. She told myself that if I ever had an opportunity in England again, I would grab it with both hands and not be that person again.”

Vigouroux was called up by Chile, his father’s homeland, during his stay in Swindon.

Without any club here, he signed for the Chilean club Everton de Vina del Mar.

It was an ill-fated move, with prolonged anti-government protests eventually leading to the cancellation of the football season in Chile.

“People rioted every day,” Vigouroux said.

“I had come from England, I lived 15 hours from home and people were angry because of something I had no idea about. It was quite scary.”

As a result, Camden-born Vigouroux returned home after just six months despite having no club to go to.

Still, he hadn’t landed long when he got a call from Leyton Orient, who were managed by Ross Embleton, Williams’ former assistant at Swindon, and had just lost their goalkeeper to a serious injury.

This was a pivotal moment in Vigouroux’s career. He felt he was “in a good place” at Orient, where he has racked up more than 150 appearances and celebrated promotion from League Two in 2022-23.

Vigouroux’s contribution was so significant that he managed a move to Burnley, who had just been promoted to the Premier League under Vincent Kompany last summer.

With £19m signings James Trafford and Arijanet Muric ahead of him in the pecking order, Vigouroux did not feature for the Clarets as they were relegated from the top flight last season.

But he says life under Kompany was ideal preparation for a move to Swansea.

Vigouroux is a goalkeeper who loves the opportunity to play with his feet, hence his reunion with Williams.

“Throughout my career, he (Williams) has had a huge influence on the way I view the game,” said Vigouroux.

“He gives me the freedom to express myself. The type of goalkeeper I am is very important to me.”

Vigouroux had been a Swansea player less than 24 hours when an injury to Andy Fisher saw him debut in the pre-season friendly defeat to FC Köln last month.

A few minutes after entering the fight, he caused controversy on social media thanks to what could become a trademark.

Vigouroux, with the ball in his hands, wanted to check that there was no opponent behind him before throwing it on the ground.

Instead of looking over each shoulder like many goalkeepers do, he did a 360-degree turn.

“I’m happy to be able to explain this so people can ease my mind a little,” Vigouroux said with a smile.

“I always look behind me to see if there are any attackers there – I’ve always done that. If I just look over both shoulders, I feel like I can’t get the full picture – they could be right behind me.

“I’ve seen some videos from the past where the goalkeeper puts the ball on the ground and someone scores. It gives me a little anxiety, so I always take a quick walk and then play.”

Swansea fans will have to get used to Vigouroux’s spin.

After all, if everything goes according to plan, they’ll see it every week.