Carlos Carvalhal talks up Swansea defender Alfie Mawson’s qualities

Carlos Carvalhal has described Alfie Mawson as “one of the best” centre-backs in the Premier League with the Swansea defender understood to be on Gareth Southgate’s World Cup radar.

England manager Southgate was at Hillsborough last weekend to see Swansea’s FA Cup fifth-round tie against Sheffield Wednesday.

Mawson was thought to be the subject of Southgate’s scouting mission, only for the former Barnsley player to withdraw from the game moments before kick-off when he injured his knee in the warm-up.

“He is one of the best central defenders in the Premier League,” Swansea manager Carvalhal said ahead of his side’s crunch trip to Brighton on Saturday.

“He is progressing a lot since I arrived at the club.

“One of the best English centre-backs? I’m absolutely sure, but it’s not my job to say whether he deserves to go with the national team.

“It is the same if someone asked me about a player from another team.

“I understand he is English, but I don’t want to give an opinion and interfere with what my colleague (Southgate) wants to do.”

Mawson has played 51 consecutive Premier League games – currently the most by any player in the competition.

And the 24-year-old is expected to stretch that record to 52 after seeing a specialist and being given the all-clear by an MRI scan on Monday.

Mawson returned to training on Wednesday and will rejoin Mike van der Hoorn and Federico Fernandez in a three-man central defence.

“Alfie is OK,” Carvalhal said. “He is training normal and recovered as we expected, and he will be available for Saturday.

“He locked the knee. Usually when he has done it, after two or three minutes we put in the pin code and unlock the knee!

“But maybe he forget the pin code this time and it stayed locked.

“After the game it was much better, he mobilised the knee and did not need any support.”

Swansea have taken 14 points from 21 since Carvalhal was appointed at the end of December.

It is a run which lifted them off the foot of the Premier League, one point above the bottom three and to within one point and two places of Brighton.

Swansea have 27 points from as many games but Carvalhal refuses to set a safety target, shunning statistics in his own unique way.

“I don’t do these kind of accounts,” Carvalhal said.

“You can say 40, but you don’t know if it will be 38, 44 or 46.

“Statistics are based on last year, two years ago or three years ago.

“But if you and I go to a picnic and we take one chicken and I eat it all, statistically you have eaten half a chicken!”