For any footballer, leaving a club after a decade of loyal service is never an easy choice.
And for Matt Grimes, who spent 11 years with Swansea City, deciding to move on in January 2025 was always going to carry an element of risk, considering how closely he had become identified with the Welsh club.
But 18 months on, Grimes is now preparing for another shot at the Premier League after his decision to join Coventry City proved richly rewarding.
“I gave a lot of years to Swansea and I’m very thankful for what they gave me in return,” he told FourFourTwo. “But I felt like it was the right time to have a crack somewhere else.”
The Sky Blues paid £4 million for the midfielder, who admitted that part of his decision to join Coventry was driven by the fear of missing out on what might have happened.
“It’s turned out as well as it could have done,” he continued. “I thought to myself, ‘If I don’t go and Coventry get promoted, I’d be gutted’.”
“But then I thought, on the flip side, ‘If I go to Coventry and Swansea get promoted, I’d be just as devastated’.”
With a major decision to make, Grimes said his mind was settled when he got the opportunity to speak with Coventry manager Frank Lampard.
“I remember my agent saying, ‘Just have a conversation with Frank Lampard’,” he added. “I was very settled at Swansea, I was very happy, and we were like, ‘Let’s just have a conversation, see how it goes’.”
“As a midfielder, I don’t think there’s anyone you’d rather play for than one of, if not the greatest English midfielder of all time. It was huge. It was a massive compliment that he wanted to sign me.”
The 31-year-old has spent much of his career chasing promotion to the Premier League and, after several agonising near-misses, reaching that target with Coventry has justified his decision to leave Swansea.
“I’m not sure exactly how many seasons I’ve played in the Championship, I think seven or eight, but I’ve had three play-off campaigns and eventually won the league.”
“The painful moments make the good ones even sweeter.”
