Brandon Cooper: Swansea City defender on loan at Newport County has 'bright future'
- Published
On loan Brandon Cooper (behind) has established himself as a key part of Newport's defence
Wales Under-21 defender Brandon Cooper has a "bright future" according to Newport County manager Michael Flynn.
The 20-year-old centre-back is on loan from Championship club Swansea City.
He is experiencing his first taste of League football and has helped County to second place in League Two ahead of Saturday's trip to Bradford City.
"He's been superb, he settled in really well, he's a hard-working young lad and he has a bright future ahead of him," Flynn said.
"Hopefully he has something to go back to Swansea with at the end of the season after a successful time with us."
Bridgend-born Cooper has slotted into a three-man central defence alongside the more experienced Matt Dolan and Mickey Demetriou, missing County's one league defeat - away to leaders Cambridge United - because he was on international duty.
Flynn said: "Those three have been rock-solid. I will go as far as to say if Brandon Cooper was playing at Cambridge we would not have lost the game.
"They are settled, they have a settled unit at the minute. Scott Bennett came in and did as well as he could but it's hard because he's never really played on the right side of the three.
"Scott is much better in the middle. It's just that little change here and there which can affect certain things.
"But like I said, towards the end of that game we kept going till the last and they are not doing too badly Cambridge."
On Saturday County travel to play Bradford City, a club for which Flynn made more than 100 appearances and was actually signed by their current manager Stuart McCall.
Flynn has fond memories of Bradford: "It is a fantastic club with big support. It will be strange without the fans there. It would have been nice to see the supporters there because the atmosphere is second to none. But it is what it is and it might work in our favour."
Loanees Jamie Proctor and Jamie Devitt, both former Bradford players, are vying for to make their debuts as County look to maintain the momentum of clean-sheet victories over Tranmere and Stevenage.