20-year-old defender Sil Swinkels played 45 minutes as Aston Villa beat Walsall 3-0 in the first friendly of pre-season.
Unai Emery has had his players back at Bodymoor Heath for pre-season this month as he prepares his Aston Villa squad for a season that will see them compete in the Champions League.
The first test to help with that preparation was a short trip to face League Two side Walsall, where Villa sported a special kit that will be used for the start of pre-season as the wait for their new Adidas kits goes on.
Villa looked decent in their first showing of the summer, with a first-half Morgan Rogers brace added to late on by Louie Barry as he turned in a Samuel Iling-Junior cross.
The squad was a mixture of first-team players and academy talents, with a different XI playing each half.
Every young player will be hoping to make their mark this summer and Dutch defender Sil Swinkels is no different.
He can take confidence from an impressive performance at centre-back in the second-half of the win over Walsall and his display may have just caught Emery’s eye.
Sil Swinkels career so far
Swinkels is a Dutch centre-back who signed for Villa from Vitesse in his homeland in summer 2020 as a 16-year-old.
Given his age, Swinkels had not made a senior appearance for Vitesse prior to making the move to England but Villa had seen enough at youth level to convince them he was a player worth pursuing.
The defender enjoyed a decent start to life in Villa’s academy, playing his part in the club’s FA Youth Cup win over Liverpool in 2021.
This came just months after he made his first – and to date only – competitive appearance for the Villa senior side, as he was one of a number of youth players who Villa were forced to throw into action against Liverpool in the FA Cup in January 2021 due to a Covid outbreak.
A Netherlands under-18 international, perhaps Swinkels would have been in and around the first-team sooner had he not suffered a devastating ACL tear in March 2023 that kept him out until April this year.
Following his recovery from that long-term injury and helping Villa’s under-21 squad reach the Premier League 2 play-offs and win the Birmingham Senior Cup, Swinkels was rewarded with a new contract in May.
What they say about Sil Swinkels
Academy manager Mark Harrison upon signing of new contract: “We are delighted to see Sil sign his new contract.
“He has shown a lot of resilience to bounce back from his injury and since doing so has shown a lot of potential and maturity in his performances.
“He has an outstanding attitude and thoroughly deserves this new contract. We look forward to seeing how he develops over the coming seasons.”
Sil Swinkels player profile
- Full name: Sil Laurentius Swinkels
- Age: 20
- Height: 1.90m (6ft 3in)
- Nationality: Dutch
- Date of birth: 6th January 2004
- Place of birth: Sent Oedenrode, Netherlands
- Position: Centre-back
- Club: Aston Villa
Can Sil Swinkels break into Aston Villa first team this season?
Swinkels’ assured display in the win over Walsall gives him a good chance of being involved in Villa’s next friendly against Slovakian side Spartak Trnava on Saturday.
The Dutch defender lined up alongside Diego Carlos at the centre of the back four on Wednesday night, whilst fellow academy defender Josh Feeney played the first-half with Pau Torres.
Should Swinkels impress again on Saturday he could earn a place on Villa’s pre-season tour of the United States, where they will face Columbus Crew and RB Leipzig.
With Tyrone Mings returning from the ACL injury that kept him out last season, it will be difficult for Swinkels to break into a first team that also boasts Ezri Konsa, Torres and Carlos at central defence.
However, the towering Dutch defender will do his chances no harm if he continues to perform as he did against Walsall.
