Matt Grimes will always have a special place in his heart for Exeter City

Swansea City skipper Matt Grimes may have become a legend at the Welsh club. But he will always have a special place in his heart for exeter-city-fc>Exeter City.

The 29-year-old has played over 300 times for the Swans and has been a model of consistency, consistently impressing in the midfield since his 2015 move from St James Park.

Having come through the academy in Devon, he made his debut in August 2013, and shortly after, then Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale described Grimes as the best young player he had seen in his 8 years at the club praising his technical ability and reading of the game. Grimes won Exeter's player of the season award at the end of the 2013–14 season, and despite leaving the division halfway through the season when he signed for Swansea, Grimes was chosen in League Two's PFA Team of the Year for the 2014–15 season.

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Grimes, just 19, became Exeter’s record transfer sale when he joined the Welsh club for £1.75 million. By then, he had broken into the England Under-20 set-up as he exploded onto the football scene, playing 62 times for City, scoring five goals.

“It was unbelievable time,” Grimes said over his time with the Grecians to SkyBet. “It’s my boyhood club and I was there from the age of nine. They gave me my first opportunity to play first team football, and I don’t have a bad word to say about the club. It’s a fantastic place with fantastic people and I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Exeter City.

“I was nine when I was picked up to join the academy, went all the way through, played scholarship and signed a one-year pro contract to start with. My debut for the club was a little bit fortunate because two of the centre midfielders – Scott Bennett and Liam Sercombe – who were supposed to play, fell ill that night. I was fortunate to get in, had a decent game and took it from there. I never looked back.”

On his first goal for the club, he added: “I don’t remember loads from the game, it was a very long time ago. I remember it being the right-hand side of the box and the manager at the time always wanted us to go keeper’s side. I hit it as hard as I could, it flicked off the defender’s head and gave the keeper no chance. I just remember a surge of emotions and didn’t know how to control myself in that moment.”

It would be unfair to say he lost his way after moving to south Wales, but the sizeable jump from League Two to the Premier League was a steep learning curve for the Exeter-born midfielder, who has since spent more time away from the Liberty Stadium than in it, following his move.

A loan spell at Blackburn was followed by a disastrous season at Leeds United. But the Swansea fans warmed to player who bounced back from the days he was discarded and lambasted so harshly by Leeds to become a Championship regular.