Ollie Cooper: Can Swansea City's attacking midfielder claim a Wales World Cup spot?
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Ollie Cooper's energy has been a factor in Swansea's upturn in fortunes after a slow start to the season
Two months ago Ollie Cooper would not have come into a conversation about Wales' potential World Cup squad.
Yet with each passing Swansea City fixture, the attacking midfielder looks a more realistic contender for a place on the plane to Qatar.
Russell Martin, Swansea's head coach, has been saying for some time that Cooper has a chance to emulate Rubin Colwill at Euro 2020 by securing a trip to a major tournament with Wales at the last minute.
With a little over a fortnight to go until Robert Page names the 26 players who will represent Wales at the World Cup, Cooper remains an outsider.
The attacking midfielder has never come close to a senior cap, after all, and Page is a manager known for his loyalty to players who have delivered for him in the past.
But it also fair to say that it would not be a shock should the Wales boss turn to Cooper, with the 22-year-old making a sizeable impression in the Championship.
"His transformation since he has come into the team - he has kept big players out," former Swansea midfielder Andy Robinson told BBC Radio Wales.
"I am not saying he is the finished article, but he is [now] adding goals to what he had been doing already.
"I really do think he's a prospect."
A product of Swansea's academy, Cooper had made only a handful of substitute appearances for the senior side before this season.
Ollie Cooper has thrived having been given a chance in the Championship by Russell Martin (left)
He impressed while on loan at League Two side Newport County in 2021-22, but returned not knowing whether he would get a chance under Martin.
Opportunities would come, first from the bench and then in Cooper's first Championship start, at Stoke on 31 August.
His first goal at this level came in the 2-1 win over Sunderland on 8 October. A second followed against Reading last week before Cooper's classy finish put Swansea on the path to victory in Sunday's south Wales derby against Cardiff City.
"What I like about Ollie Cooper, and I saw it a lot at Newport last season, is that he does both sides of the game really well," said ex-Wales defender Danny Gabbidon.
"He does the basics well, as a manager you can trust him. He works hard, will do his defensive work, and we all know about what he can do at the other end of the pitch - he gets goals and can provides assists.
"He had to bide his time to get into this Swansea team and he has done what all good young players do when he got his opportunity - he has taken it."
Cooper has played for Wales Under-21s but, with his 23rd birthday approaching, is now too old to play at that level.
He must now compete for a senior call with the likes of Rabbi Matondo, Tyler Roberts, Jonny Williams, Sorba Thomas and Colwill, the Cardiff youngster who has not played for a month because of injury.
Cooper's fine club form has thrust him into contention, although he is not about to say as much himself.
"For me it's a massive honour to even be considered, to have my name [mentioned] in the same sentence as the Wales squad," Cooper said.
"Coming into the season that wouldn't even have been a consideration. I don't know how I would feel if [a World Cup call-up] was to happen - I couldn't even picture it.
"All I can do is perform well for Swansea."