West Brom 'open to offers' for €3m-plus rated former PO4 youngster
Since being released by Paul Hart when he was 12, Swift has clocked up more than 300 league appearances
Former Pompey youngster John Swift is being linked with a move away from West Brom. The midfielder, who was told he had no Fratton Park future by Paul Hart as a 12-year-old, has been the subject of transfer speculation this week.
Football Insider reported the 29-yearold is on Middlesbrough’s radar and that boss Michael Carrick is plotting a raid for the established Championship performer. That story has since been dismissed by the Northern Echo, who claim Boro have no plans to sign him.
It has been suggested that the Baggies are ‘open to offers’ for the midfielder, who made 39 league appearances for Carlos Corberan’s side last season and contributed nine goals and one assist.
Swift has one year remaining on his Hawthorns contract, after arriving on a free transfer from the Royals in 2022. Both Transfermarkt.com and Flashscore.co.uk value the player at around the €3.2-3.8m mark.
Seventeen of Swift’s Championship appearances last term came from the bench, with his start against Rotherham on April 10 his only one since February 20.
He completed just five 90 minutes for the Baggies in the league as they finished fifth before losing to Southampton in the play-off semi-finals. Swift featured off the bench in both games against the Saints, where defeat would have been extra tought to take given his Gosport roots and time spent at Pompey.
The former Brune Park pupil joined the Blues’ ranks as a 10-year-old but was released when Hart took charge of the academy. Aged 13, he was asked to attend a three-day trial at Chelsea.
Pompey made a return bid for the midfelder but he opted to sign for the Londoners, making his sole Premier League appearance as a sub against Cardiff in 2014. But unable to make a serious first-team breakthrough at Stamford Bridge, and after loan stays with Rotherham, Swindon and Brentford, Swift moved to Reading in 2016. In all, he has made 318 league appearances, including 256 starts, scoring 55 goals.
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