Swansea City’s 22-year-old left-back, Nathan Tjoe-A-On, is a player many within the game are excited by.
The Rotterdam-born Indonesian international arrived in South Wales in the summer transfer window of 2023 for a fee of £300,000, having already made 33 Eredivisie appearances for Excelsior.
But Tjoe-A-On, a superstar in Indonesia with over two million Instagram followers, has found game time limited since making the switch to the Swans. Josh Tymon, a skilful left-back regarded among the best in his position in the Championship, blocked Tjoe-A-On’s pathway into manager Luke Williams’ team.
The four-time capped Indonesia was forced to settle for a loan move at SC Heerenveen, another Eredivisie club, where he made a handful of substitute appearances.
What can we expect from Tjoe-A-On during the 24/25 campaign?
The 2024/2025 season looks to represent something different for the 22-year-old. Despite a season spent away from the starting line-up of any club-level side, several clubs, including newly promoted Championship side Oxford United, inquired about the availability of Tjoe-A-On during the off-season.
Despite the ongoing interest, Williams, who got the opportunity to closely observe the fullback for the first time during the recently completed pre-season, appears to view Tjoe-A-On as part of his first-team plans this campaign.
Tjoe-A-On finally made his Swansea debut during a 3-1 EFL Cup victory over League Two side Gillingham before receiving his first Championship minutes in the closing stages of a 3-0 win against Preston North End four days later.
Reflecting on Tjoe-A-On’s amplified involvement in the Swansea first team, Williams claimed:
“I don’t have any complaints about his performance. He’s been training really well with the first team. He’s a really good guy. A really hard-working guy. He has a huge following on social media. So, I’m sure there will be a lot of people really happy to see him play.”
The 22-year-old has shown enough promise to potentially challenge Tymon for a starting spot this season,
What will Tjoe-A-On bring to Williams’ Swansea team?
Swansea have started the season in, on paper, a 4-2-3-1 formation, but during build-up and while in possession in the opponent’s half, players rotate into more of a 3-2-5 formation.
First-choice full-backs Josh Key and Josh Tymon have operated in inverted roles while in possession, with emphasis on the pair’s passing range along with their defensive abilities.
This is something that could suit Tjoe-A-On perfectly. The 22-year-old’s footballing education at Excelsior’s youth academy, a club renowned in the Netherlands for developing technical footballers, equipped Tjoe-A-On with technical skills suitable for the role of an inverted full-back.
During the Indonesian superstar’s full debut against Gillingham, as well as footage observed from spells at Excelsior and SC Heerenveen, Tjoe-A-On regularly demonstrates the ability to play progressive, line-breaking passes to forwards from his own half.
The 5ft11’ defender has impressive ball-carrying skills, too; like Tymon, who has received the freedom to take risks in the attacking half under Williams’ management, Tjoe-A-On is comfortable in offensive one-on-one situations and can cause opposition defences problems with his wicked deliveries into the box.
Tjoe-A-On is one to keep an eye on this season.