'A touch of throwback': What the Fratton faithful can expect from Portsmouth's mystery man

That’s how Pompey’s third signing of the summer has been described by AFC Sudbury’s director of football.

Reuben Swann is a relative unknown, an 18-year-old who made seven appearances for the Southern League Premier Central side last season, scoring twice.

As an Academy player at the Suffolk based-club, he was part of a side which triumphed in the English Colleges FA National Cup at Accrington, while won selection for the England College’s National Team squad.

Those bright performances also brought him to the attention of Pompey’s scouts, who invited him for a trial in November before paying an undisclosed fee earlier this week to secure his services on a two-year deal.

Undoubtedly viewed as one for the future, with the possibility of a loan to aid his development, Swann will feature for the Blues during their pre-season schedule.

And Sudbury’s director of football Danny Laws is convinced the talented teenager can flourish at Fratton Park.

He told The News: ‘‘Pompey have a very good player on their hands. Reuben is what I would call a real modern-day midfield player with a touch of throwback.

‘He’s a powerful ball carrier rather than an exquisite passer. He will receive the ball in tight areas, get himself out of trouble and then break lines by powering through midfield.

‘Reuben isn’t a tricky winger, he’s a central midfielder whose unique selling point is how he looks after the ball and drives past people with it. He carries it upfield whenever he can.

‘He also has a really good eye for goal, his finishing in and around the box is quality, and that is probably what has turned heads and why clubs at higher levels have been looking at him.

‘Interest from clubs started to kick in after he played for our Academy at Leyton Orient in the first round of the FA Youth Cup in November.

‘He played really well in that game and was brought down for our penalty, which was converted by another player in a 2-1 defeat.

‘When Pompey fans watch him play, you will see that physicality to his game, he is beyond his years for someone who has only recently turned 18.’

Swann, who made his first-team debut in March 2023 as a first-year scholar, missed three months of last season through injury.

Nonetheless, he still made an impact for the first-team, which narrowly avoided relegation in a dramatic end to the campaign.

Laws added: ‘Reuben came into our first-team last season and made contributions.

‘Unfortunately we were in a bit of a relegation battle, so it was a difficult time for young players coming in, plus he had an injury, but when there’s a player like that coming through our manager used him whenever he could.

‘And he’s a talented lad.’