Lawrence Vigouroux reckons he will not be booed on his return to Burnley this weekend because the home crowd will not know who he is.
After a season as a fringe figure with the Clarets, however, Vigouroux has very quickly made a name for himself at Swansea City.
Vigouroux’s contribution has been so notable, in fact, that Luke Williams has backed his goalkeeper to play in the Premier League.
If the top flight is a long-term target, the immediate goal for Vigouroux is to continue his fine form when Swansea take on Burnley on Sunday.
The game means a swift return to Turf Moor for Vigouroux, who failed to make a senior appearance during a year in the Premier League with Burnley – then coached by Vincent Kompany – before joining Swansea for an undisclosed fee in July.
“I think it was a good learning curve for me, learning under a manager who has ended up going to Bayern Munich, and all his staff,” the 30-year-old said.
“For me it was really good to get my eye in at that sort of level. I enjoyed my time there with the players and the day-to-day stuff in the changing room.
“Of course it was a bit frustrating not playing and that’s why I decided to go at the end of the season. I am really happy with the decision I made.”
Swansea’s trip north means a chance for Vigouroux, finally, to show his qualities to Burnley’s fans.
“I don’t think I’ll get any boos because unless they were watching the warm-ups, they won’t know who I am,” he added with a smile.
Kompany took Vigouroux to Burnley after the former Liverpool youngster had excelled with Leyton Orient, where he made more than 150 appearances and – crucially – established himself as a keeper who is ultra-confident with the ball at his feet.
But with £19m signing James Trafford and Arijanet Muric ahead of him in the pecking order, Vigouroux never played in a Burnley shirt.
Yet his impact at Swansea has meant the Welsh club have not missed Carl Rushworth, their player of the year last season when he was on loan from Brighton.
Swansea boss Williams says Vigouroux, who represents Chile at international level but is yet to win a senior cap, has been “as good as anybody else wearing the goalkeeper shirt in the Championship” in 2024-25.
“The way he’s kept the ball out of the net and the way he’s helped the team to build up, he has been exceptional,” Williams said.
“If you look at his career, whatever level he has been at, once he has established himself, he has become a key player for that team and player of the year several times.
“So I’m really optimistic that he’s going to improve, which is exciting because he’s playing so well already.”
Vigouroux has never previously played at Championship level, with most of his senior career spent at Orient and Swindon Town.
Yet Williams has already seen enough from Vigouroux to feel “certain he can go to the top”.
Having been too porous, too often ever since Steve Cooper’s reign ended in 2021, Swansea have shown new-found resilience this season.
They have conceded only nine goals in 14 league games to date, one of the best records in the division.
“It’s everyone working together as a collective to have such a good defensive record,” Vigouroux said.
He kept a fifth league clean sheet of the season as Swansea beat Watford in midweek to move to within touching distance of the play-offs.
Goalscoring has been a major issue for Williams’ side this season, with defensive successes the key to their encouraging points return.
Watford was a second straight win after last weekend’s 2-1 triumph at Oxford United, which was particularly enjoyable for Vigouroux given his Swindon connections.
“I got sent off against Oxford twice [playing for Swindon] so they give me a bit of stick every time I go there,” he said.
“The first red was for two yellows. I got one – I am not going to repeat what I said to the linesman – and then there was a tackle on me. I was a bit angry and I got up and pushed the guy and I got another yellow.
“Then the second red was [for being the] last man. It wasn’t even me. Everyone was saying it wasn’t me but he sent me off. We appealed it and it got overturned, but people don’t remember that. They just remember the two red cards.”
That meant it was more pleasing than usual, Vigouroux acknowledges, just to make it all the way to full time at the Kassam Stadium with Swansea.
“I was thinking to myself, if they go through one on one, I can’t go running out because I can’t get sent off again,” he said through another smile.
Having become the first visiting side to win at Oxford this season, Swansea’s next challenge is to try to end Burnley’s unbeaten home record.
“They have got really good individuals and a lot of quality,” Vigouroux said.
“But if we can go and play the way we have in the last two games, you never know what happens.”