HAVERFORDWEST County AFC’s latest signing Ben Phillips says the opportunity to play close to home while continuing his football development made joining the Bluebirds an easy decision.

The 18-year-old defender has returned to the club where his football journey began, having represented Haverfordwest County at under-nines level before being snapped up by Swansea City’s academy.

After spending almost a decade with the Swans, progressing through the age groups before earning a scholarship and moving away from home at 16, Phillips is now ready for the next chapter of his career in the Cymru Premier.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” said the Neyland-born youngster.

“It’s only 15 minutes from home, so it’s quite ideal.”

Phillips will be part of Haverfordwest’s innovative new hybrid model, which allows selected players to train on a full-time basis while continuing their football commitments. The initiative is designed to help young talent develop in a professional environment while remaining within the club’s senior setup.

“For me, I just like playing football every day,” he said.

“It was more interesting being out on the pitch every single day rather than being part-time. That’s one of the main reasons why I decided to come here.”

Reflecting on his time at Swansea City, Phillips believes the experience has played a major role in shaping both his footballing ability and personal development.

He said: “I’ve enjoyed it, from under 10s to under 18s. Living up there for two years really helped me as a person, living away from home. It’s more about gaining experiences as a centre half, playing against top, top players, Cat One teams such as Leeds. It really helped my development as a player.”

Primarily a centre-back but equally comfortable in midfield, Phillips enjoyed an impressive 2025-26 campaign, featuring regularly for Swansea City’s under-18s and under-21s. He was also part of the under-18 side that reached the last 16 of the FA Youth Cup, including a notable victory away at Leeds United.

His performances have also earned recognition on the international stage, having represented Cymru at both under-17 and under-19 level, with his most recent appearance for the under-19s coming last October.

Meanwhile, Haverfordwest continued their pre-season preparations with a goalless draw against Aberystwyth Town at Park Avenue on Friday evening.

The game started cautiously, with the visitors dominating possession and showing some neat movement but unable to create any clear-cut chances against Aber’s disciplined defensive shape.

Kyle McCarthy delivered a cross from the left which Will Hughes headed wide at the far post.

The two sides traded free-kicks and corners without creating any real danger, before Aber came closest just before the break. Tom Evans burst down the right and crossed for Jonathan Evans to dart in at the near post, but his touch drifted narrowly wide.

County made nine changes after the break, retaining a side packed with Cymru Premier experience, but Aber continued to create the better openings. Owen won possession on the right before cutting inside and curling a goal-bound effort that forced a fine save from Ifan Knott.

Town made nine substitutions of their own but maintained the defensive solidity that restricted Haverfordwest to very few chances. Sam Paddock produced an outstanding challenge to deny a clear goalscoring opportunity before Lewis Rees had an effort blocked and Jacob Bacon saw an attempt heroically cleared off the line as the Seasiders stood firm.