Carvalhal pleased with Mawson call up

Swansea City manager Carlos Carvalhal delighted in Alfie Mawson's England call-up as he piled the pressure on Tottenham ahead of their FA Cup quarter-final.

Mawson was called into Gareth Southgate's squad for the first time on Thursday, giving the player and the club a big boost ahead of Saturday's cup clash.

And Carvalhal believes Mawson is ready to prove his class on the international stage, having seen clear progress in his play in recent times.

"As a manager, I always have two things in my head," he said. "One is to develop my team so we win games and the other is to try to make the players I am working with better players.

"Alfie is progressing a lot in my opinion and we are very happy to help him do that.

"He is doing [better] things now compared to what he was doing in the past. All credit goes to him – he is a good character, he plays with quality and, as I have said before, he is one of the best centre-backs playing in the Premier League.

"He is completely ready to play at a higher level. He is a good defender who can also start attacks - in modern football, that's something you need."

10 February 2018

Before Mawson joins up with England, he will face Tottenham in a game that Carvalhal acknowledges is of greater significance to the London club.

"A club like Tottenham has high expectations and they want to win trophies," he added. "We want to do our best, we are underdogs.

"I am not trying to put pressure on them, there is already a natural pressure to win every game. It is normal for them, they have to win. If they lose, it is like the end of the world."