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Wales Online

Sport

Ian Mitchelmore

'I love the club' - Matty Sorinola's Swansea City hope and the special feeling he had at Watford

Matty Sorinola Swansea (Organization) Swans Swansea City Russell Martin Watford Russ Burnley MK Dons Obafemi

Matty Sorinola admits he's keen to extend his stay with Swansea City beyond his current season-long loan deal with the club.

Sorinola joined the Swans from Union SG in the summer and has been a key figure in the club's campaign so far, featuring in all 14 games across the Championship and Carabao Cup. The Swans attempted to sign the 21-year-old on a permanent deal, although the Belgian outfit were only willing to sanction a temporary exit.

But Sorinola says he has fallen in love with the Swans since joining in June and admits it was an easy decision to make the switch to south Wales.

"I know the style of play, I know a lot of people at the club already, obviously the boys that were at MK with me. It was quite an easy decision," he said. "I just wanted to play football. I know how big the club is and I know a lot of people here. I just wanted to get it done and sign for Swansea."

And when asked if he wants to remain with the club beyond this season, Sorinola responded: "Yeah I love the club, I love it here so everything's good.

"It depends how well I do. Hopefully, it's a great club with great fans, we'll see what happens when it comes to that time I guess."

Indeed, Sorinola's relationship with those at the club who joined from MK Dons was a pivotal factor in his decision to move to Swansea. The London-born star made his professional debut alongside his current head coach Russell Martin for the Dons in a Football League Trophy clash with Fulham's Under-21s little more than three years ago.

It proved to be one of the final games of Martin's illustrious playing career before he was asked to take charge of MK Dons by the club's chairman Pete Winkelman. And having been re-united with Martin this summer, Sorinola could not hide his affection for the 36-year-old.

"I was right wing-back and he was centre-back," said Sorinola on his first and only on-field outing with Martin. "He's looked after me since I joined MK Dons to be honest. I'm just grateful for everything he's done for me.

"It's great to work under Russ. He's a great manager."

In many ways, Sorinola typifies Swansea's campaign thus far. The youngster understandably needed time to adapt having gone from League One to the Jupiler Pro League and then to the Championship.

Following, in his own words, a "slow start", Sorinola has been able to go through the gears of late and has been a pivotal cog in Swansea's recent surge up the Championship table. The youngster claimed key assists for Joel Piroe and Ryan Manning against Stoke City and Hull City respectively, while he also scored his first goal for the club in the 3-2 win at West Brom.

"I had a slow start but I'm finally getting my way into things," he said of his form. "I was still adapting I guess, but I feel now like I'm starting to find my form.

"I'm playing with confidence and it's great to have the boys around me, that's helping me every day. Obviously it's a manger I know as well. I feel like I'm finally getting into the rhythm of things.

"My job is to defend as well but I want to try and contribute as much as possible to the team. I'm happy I got two assists and a goal but hopefully I can kick on and try to get more.

"The team is on fire now, so we just need to keep going. We have momentum so hopefully we can go to Burnley and put in another good performance.

"We know they're a good side but we also know our qualities as well. We know it's not going to be an easy game so we need to be at our best."

The Jack Army head to Burnley in confident mood following a run of four successive wins, two of which came on the road at West Brom and Watford. Those two away fixtures were particularly memorable for Sorinola who netted his first goal for Swansea against the Baggies before having his name chanted to the tune of The Dave Clark Five's Glad All Over at Watford.

And it's his strong bond with the club's staff, players and fans that make you fully understand exactly why Sorinola is so keen to extend his stay with Swansea City.

"I heard it [chant]," said Sorinola. "It was a special feeling. My family were in the crowd as well so it made them proud as well.

"I think the fans are great. I'm just thankful for everything, I appreciate it. I'm just trying to show my support and repay them with my performances on the pitch."

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