Exclusive:Scouting report on new Hibs striker Colton Swan - inside track on young American amid 'dark arts' admission
Charleston coach Cameron backs forward in ‘biggest jump’ of career
A pure talent who may need time to learn the dark arts needed to survive in the SPFL. An “old soul” who will take to at least one element of life within an easy drive of Scotland’s golf coast. And a youngster whose rapid ascent has been rewarded with this chance to rise further still.
At just 19, Hibs signing Colton Swan is preparing for the biggest game of his short career, as the towering striker gets ready to lead the line for Charleston Battery in Saturday’s USL Championship Eastern Conference Final. On the books of the Easter Road club already, he’s due to report for duty almost immediately after his season stateside winds up.
Striker on fast track to Scottish Premiership
And, according to one of the footballing brains responsible for guiding the forward to a breakthrough season in the professional ranks, the youngster will bring a whole lot talent – and a brilliant attitude – to his first session at East Mains. While there are no guarantees in football, Swan at least seems to possess the raw materials needed to cope with the rugged environs of the Scottish Premiership.
Charleston Battery assistant coach Ian Cameron, son of the former Hibs player of the same name, provided The Evening News with a scouting breakdown of a target man who leads his team’s scoring charts with 14 goals across all competitions. He clearly thinks highly of a kid who has just been voted USPLA Young Player of the Year by his fellow pros.
Cameron, a former Rangers academy prospect and Partick Thistle player who self-deprecatingly describes himself as “a No. 10 not made for the rough and tumble of Scottish football”, said: “If you look at the last three, four years, Colton’s had one-stop shops at quite a few places, and kind of moved quite quickly through the ranks. So he was MLS Academy, Colorado Rapids, did well, quickly got recruited to Indiana, which is one of the big college soccer teams over here with all, with humongous resources and so forth. Did really, for a young boy, did really well in year one.
“Quickly went on to the Charleston Battery, which was not the plan; you go to college for a four-year education. But he got quickly picked up to be in a pro organisation. Hit the ground running there and adapted quickly.
“And then, you know, and then within one year, obviously the ownership at Hibernian has seen something in him and thought: ‘Okay, that's an investment for the future.’ So the track record shows he’s adapted to each new place very, very quickly.
“Now, I think there's a couple of reasons for that. I think he's quite a self-autonomous boy. For 19 years old, he's a very, very mature young man. He's kind of a bit of a sponge. He's coachable.
“He's got enough of an ego to score goals, but a low enough ego to do the hard work and run and be young - and not be a prima donna. So I think that will endear ourself well to Scottish football in terms of his willingness to make runs in behind, his desire to make double movements in the box and score goals.
“But this is going to be the biggest jump for him by far. Each one of those steps I mentioned before are good steps, but you could forecast that he'd do well It’s a different jump to Hibs. So that adaption is going to be interesting, right?
“If he can score an early goal to endear himself to the fan base quickly, then that can be really a big springboard. But, you know, that would be the big adaption for him.
“It's just how does he adjust to the game model and physicality of football in Scotland. So I think he's got the tools.
“You’re not plucking somebody out of America who's a really technical 10 who's going to go over there and just get bullied and take two or three years to adapt to the physicality and pace of British football. So can he raise his level and make an imprint enough to get into squads or to merit minutes?
“This will be the first juncture in his career where maybe he doesn't play as much as he's used to in the last three, four years. Can he still train really well and understand that's part of the development? So that's going to be the interesting part and the exciting part.”
USL Championship Eastern Conference Final on Saturday
Confirming that Swan will be off to his new adventure almost as soon as Charleston wind up their season, Cameron said: “Hopefully that's not for another two weeks, speaking selfishly. We play on Saturday. If we're able to advance, we'll play the final the following Saturday. Then I think he'll pop home and see his folks.
“Obviously the interesting part for him is when this news first started coming through about his move to Hibs, David Gray was in charge. Now there’s a new coach.
“He's been sitting with me in the office watching video clips of the new coach, Marink Reedijk. I’ve just told him to be young, run around a lot and compete. Have a general enthusiasm to play football every single day and you'll be just fine, son.
“As long as the club understands that he’s a young boy and there'll be a development curve and they have a little bit more of a long-term growth mindset on him, I think he'll do just fine. I won't be surprised if he scores some goals early. Equally I won't be surprised if it takes him six months.
“But he’s coming in mid-season. At least he's fit and healthy. He's starting this Saturday so he's at the cutting edge of where he needs to be.
Top scorer and Young Player of the Year still developing
“The adaption period shouldn't be too much physically. It'll just be tactically and environmentally.
“The dark arts is where he's going to have the biggest growth. He's got the fame for it. He's got the mindset for it. It's just, as I say, the dark arts that you have to learn as a young boy.
“I don't think Hibs are buying him right now to be the golden goose, the guy that is the main striker. But they see something in him that, OK, with some development, with some bleeding in, with some experience and a bit of luck, then he can really blossom into something.”
Cameron, who remembers regular trips to Easter Road to watch his dad, and talks with fondness about playing one cup tie there for Partick Thistle before moving to the States to play college football, is certain that Swan will settle into life on and off the field in Edinburgh, saying: “He’s a great, great, great boy. He wants conversations with the coaches. He's somebody that will kind of stay behind afterwards and ask questions. He’ll follow up, he'll seek advice, he'll come and watch video.
“He's quite mature. He knows who he is. I think that's a really important thing for a young man.
“He likes his golf. He doesn't party. He likes the rhythm of his life. So I think that side, as long as he doesn't go to Greggs and eat 15 chicken nuggets and blow up, then I think he'll do just fine!
“It's a nice thing to have away from the field, the golf, because other boys play video games all day or sit on their phone all day. Colton's a wee bit of an old soul when it comes to that.
“He's not quite made of the same ilk as some of the other young boys coming through. He's definitely a lot mature. He's definitely got a clearer vision of who he is as a person and who he wants to be.
“He's a little bit more settled, and I think that'll do him well. It's certainly helped him adapt to his different environments he's been in. Clearly, this will be the biggest football jump he's made.”