‘A very good Championship footballer on his day’: Big billing for West Brom man keen on Portsmouth homecoming

‘John was a really eye-catching free signing when West Brom brought him in during the summer of 2022.

‘He came to the club with really, really good stats for his last season in Reading at double figures for goals and assists, and you knew he would and you knew he would be at the of everybody’s lists for free agents.

‘So, right from the get-go, a lot was expected of him, even though there wasn't a big transfer fee paid out.

‘West Brom had clearly been able to recruit him through parachute payments from Premier League relegation, with the decision made he was worth it after being so devoid of creativity the season before.

‘It was a pretty rubbish time for the first few months, with Steve Bruce unable to get a tune out of the team at all and when Carlos Corberan came into the club he inherited a team bottom of the league.

West Brom ‘sky-rocketed’ with Swift creativity key

‘Corberan was able to really get Swift playing though and he was able to combine as a proper number 10 with Daryl Dike and Brandon Thomas-Asante. They had Grady Diangana on one wing, Jed Wallace on the other and they went on a crazy run of 10 wins out of 11 games.

‘The team sky-rocketed and went from bottom to the edge of the play-offs, though the season flattened out, but Swift contributed quite a bit to that with his creativity.

‘He got six goals and nine assists, but was really honest about not contributing as many goals as he would’ve liked and felt he needed to get his numbers up.

‘After his excellent final season at Reading it would’ve been seen as a regression for him, he recognised that and addressed it in the second season where he got nine goals. He was on penalty duties, free-kicks and scored some wonderful goals from outside the penalty area.

‘In his only full season at the club, Carlos Corberan got the team into the play-offs and Swift was part of a big group of attacking players, which meant he wasn’t guaranteed a starting place.

‘He started the season so well and got a lot of his goals by the end of September, but then got a pretty bad injury which saw him miss a month or two and disrupted his rhythm.

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‘The third season was the most disappointing one for Swift in terms of his performances, goals and assists.

‘Corberan reintegrated Karlan Grant, who’d been out on loan the previous season, and he became a big part of what they were doing.

Failure to reach Premier League will hold disappointment

‘Swift started the season in a deeper role, almost as a roaming eight, but eventually lost his place amid a reshuffle and never really regained it.

‘It took Corberan to leave and Tony Mowbray to arrive for things to change, with Mowbray making it really clear he rated John. He was a Mowbray player, very capable on the ball and able to thread passes through and open up defences.

‘The bigger picture under Mowbray though was things just didn’t work out and it went against Swift. Then towards the end of the season, you could just tell things were coming to an end.

‘There was never any talk of a contract renewal, and he made a horrible mistake in one of his last performances against Coventry when Albion needed a result.

‘He gave the ball up on the edge of the box and Coventry scored their second goal. That led to him becoming a bit of a target from Albion fans on the day, and he was getting booed when he touched the ball.

‘It was a pretty sour way to end and, in my opinion, he’d probably look back on his three years and think he moved to the club to get them into the Premier League and play Premier League football himself. He didn’t achieve that, so I’m sure he’ll hold some disappointments, frustrations or regrets over that.

Pompey homecoming could see Blues have ‘very good player on hands’

‘John is a very, very capable player in the right system, however, and we saw that he’s a very good Championship footballer on his day.

‘He’s certainly still got a lot to offer at the level, if he’s utlised properly. He’s still a very intelligent player who looks after the ball in tight spaces, and he’s not a small lad at around 6ft-plus.

‘Generally speaking his set-pieces are of a high level and he has that eye for a pass. I think he’s still got another contract’s worth of Championship football in him.

‘Swift is the kind of player who can be a luxury when things aren’t going well, but when the team’s in full flow he can be at the heart of it.

‘There are games where I’ve seen him run the show. There was a game against Norwich on Boxing Day 2023 which stands out - he had so much fun that day.

‘If you can get him having days like that more regularly, then Portsmouth could have a very good player on their hands if anything happens.’

YOUR NEXT POMPEY READ: Pompey missed out on a permanent deal for the League One champion last summer - now he's the subject of a £12.7m transfer chase.