A Zimbabwe-born youngster, Tivonge Rushesha has burst into the scene, creating a name for himself ever since he made it into the Swansea U23 team last month.

The 16-year-old full-back played in his first appearance for the club in the Premier League 2 on Monday night in a 3-0 defeat to West Ham.

Speaking on Swansea’s official website, Rushesha feels the experience offered another valuable learning opportunity and he has vowed to continue to play with no fear against older players.

“The result was disappointing, but, overall, I was happy with my performance,” Rushesha said. “The boys supported me throughout the entire match.

“It was great to play my first game at the Liberty, I am happy to have hit that milestone and to have played in PL2.

“The right-back role is just one of the positions I am able to play. I see myself as a central midfielder as well as in central defence.

“But I am happy to play wherever. I just look to play without any fear. My Dad always says not to worry about stuff because you won’t focus on or enjoy the chance.

“If you make a mistake you just have to forget about it and play as well as possible. That is the only way you are going to impress. If you play with fear you will not get anywhere.”

The teenager, who joined the Swans at under-12 level, hopes to continue to be a part of the under-23s’ set-up for the remainder of the season.

And he wants to keep progressing towards his longer-term goal of first-team involvement at Swansea City.

“Any scholar wants to make that jump as quickly as possible to get to the main goal of playing for the first team,” he continued.

“Anything is possible if you keep playing as well as you can and listen to the coaches.”

Rusheshe joins a number of players based in the diaspora who are eligible to play for Zimbabwe. Some of them include Reading midfielder Andy Rinomhota, Reis Nelson who is at Hoffenheim on loan from Premier League club Arsenal, Joshua Jeche of Cambridge United and Rotherham United’s Kuda Muskwe.