Blog written by Olle_Soderholm
Published: 7th May 2026 17:15
Ben Cabango and Cameron Burgess have played as Swansea’s starting duo almost all season, and they have been solid.
But they lack one key thing - ability on the ball
Neither of them are good enough in to control to increase tempo in possession, and far too often we lose the ball in dangerous areas. I believe we need a centre back who is better in possession, one who can play line-breaking passes more often, and make less mistakes.
A lot of teams don’t have ball playing centre backs, so why do Swansea ? Because of the Swansea way maybe ? We want to control the ball and the tempo of the game. This is something Vitor Matos touched on in an interview recently. To achieve this style of play at a high level this type of profile is crucial.
A skilled ball playing centre back can provide insane value (Cubarsí at Barca is a great example).
They can start from the back with control, not being forced to go long as this often results in a loss of possession and control. They can dictate tempo and be the "anchor” in possession whilst attacking (e.g. how Grimes acted a lot). This allows the Swans to push more skilled offensive players up the field, the best example being Galbraith. With a better ball playing CB Galbraith could push up further, where he is very good. They are also less prone to making costly mistakes with the ball, something that has happened too often this season.
But who gets replaced?
For me it has to be Burgess. He is not as good on the ball when compared to Cabango, loses the ball in dangerous areas and doesn’t have the same leader role as Ben. With that said, I don’t want us to sell Burgess. Overall he is still immense in the air and he has played every minute for us this season, and availability is the best ability.
Filip Lissah (young player of the season t Falkirk) has been a hot topic recently and he is guaranteed to be part of the squad next season. He has played mostly full back for Falkrik but he has historically preferred the centre back position. Lissah isn’t the same defensive beast as Burgess, but he is way better with the ball at his feet. He could perhaps be the answer, otherwise we need to go looking the summer.
Either way it’s clear to me that a ball playing CB is needed!