His preparation for the 2021/22 campaign was far from ideal. Jamie Paterson joined Swansea City little more than 24 hours before their season opener at Blackburn Rovers after being released by Bristol City.
It was an incredibly difficult summer for the attacker who was without a club and then suffered an injury while on trial with Middlesbrough. It ensured he was unable to have a full pre-season before being thrown straight in at the deep end at Ewood Park.
Paterson still managed to score the first goal of the Russell Martin era in that defeat to Rovers, and it was a sign of things to come from the exciting playmaker who excelled in the opening half of the campaign, which was an impressive achievement given the events that occurred before his switch to south Wales.
