As the U.S. Men’s National Team goes through the paces of its first camp under new head coach Gregg Berhalter in California, many players who are expected to be a part of the future plans are continuing the long haul of league play overseas.

Cameron Carter-Vickers is one of those players. After winning seven caps in 2018 under interim head coach Dave Sarachan, Carter-Vickers is aiming to earn a call from Berhalter for the March camp in hopes of continuing his improvement his place in the centerback pool for the USMNT.

“I’ve been able to talk to Wil [Trapp] and some other players in the past camps about Gregg and they had a lot of positive things to say,” Carter-Vickers told SBI. “If I get the call-up which hopefully I do then I’ll be rearing to go and it will be exciting to work with him. He has a lot of experience playing international football and that’s definitely a positive to have with a head coach. He’s able to get that message across to the players and I think it will be a great experience for myself.”

Carter-Vickers was part of the USMNT youth movement in 2018, earning regular call-ups under interim coach Dave Sarachan. As frustrating as some aspects of 2018 were for the USMNT and its fans, Carter-Vickers is appreciative of the experience he gained.

“If you go through 2018 we had some good games and some not so good games. I think it was definitely tough but also a good learning curve for a lot of the players involved,” Carter-Vickers said. “Playing against the likes of France before the World Cup and then playing teams like Mexico and Paraguay teams more near our region was good as well.”

The 21-year-old centerback is currently in the middle of his third consecutive loan spell away from Tottenham Hotspur, this time with Swansea City of the EFL Championship. Just like with the USMNT, Carter-Vickers has had to fight for playing time at Swansea, battling off both veterans and young players for the chance in the starting XI.

Since the start of 2017, Carter-Vickers has spent time with Sheffield United, Ipswich Town, and currently Swansea, all teams in the League Championship with aspirations of gaining promotion to the English Premier League. The series of loan moves have helped Carter-Vickers gain experience, but also knowledge from several different coaches and teammates.

“Playing with this group has been really helpful for me,” Carter-Vickers said. “Leroy [Fer], Kyle [Naughton], Wayne [Routledge], and Nathan [Dyer] to name a few have been important to work with. They’re good professionals and certainly some guys I try to watch and learn as much as I can from.

“Every time I am able to get on the pitch it’s been fun. Playing in the Championship is a challenging league and some weeks you are playing every three days. It’s a new challenge knowing that one weekend of results could flip a lot of things around so you definitely have to be prepared. But it’s a challenge I enjoy.”

The first-half of the domestic season has seen Carter-Vickers make 11 appearances this season under new head coach Graham Potter. Despite currently sitting in 13th place, morale is high for the Welsh club riding a four-match unbeaten run as it chases a return to the top-flight.

Though he hasn’t been able to break through with Tottenham, Carter-Vickers has made the most of his stints away and will aim for continued appearances in 2019.

“I’ve definitely enjoyed my time at Swansea,” Carter-Vickers said. “I think we have a good squad here, a lot of good players and the manager is a good one as well. Our strategy has been playing out of the back and trying to possess the ball which I think is a good one to play in. Recently we’ve had a pick up in form, so overall things are going good.”

“Each loan has been really different for me as a player. At Sheffield United it was a steep learning curve since I hadn’t really played much senior minutes consecutively,” Carter-Vickers told SBI. “I played seven or eight games there and it helped me learn what it takes to play men’s football. Going to Ipswich, I took what I learned at Sheffield and tried to get better as a player. I was trying to be as consistent as I could and really hammer out good performances. I feel each has helped me in some way as a player.”