West Brom 'open to offers' for €3m-plus rated former Reading midfielder released by Paul Hart at Portsmouth

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 in recent days.

Football Insider have reported the 29-year-old 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 add the former Brentford and Reading man to their ongoing recruitment drive at this moment.

Yet 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.

Indeed, it’s believed West Brom could be tempted to cash in on Swift, who 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 starting XI inclusion since February 20. He completed just five 90 minutes for the Baggies in the league as they finished fifth and saw their promotion hopes ended by Southampton in the play-off semi-finals.

Swift featured off the bench in both games against the Saints. Exiting the promotion race at the hands of Southampton would have been hard given the player’s Gosport roots and time spent at Pompey.

The former Brune Park pupil joined the Blues’ ranks as a 10-year-old but was later released when Hart took charge of the academy. He went on to play for Sunday league football until the age of 13, before being 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 where he made fine progress through the ranks.

Swift was unable to make the first-team breakthrough at Stamford Bridge among Chelsea’s galaxy of stars and, after loan stays with Rotherham, Swindon and Brentford, moved to Reading in 2016. Although younger than Marlon Pack and Matt Ritchie, Swift would have been in the Pompey age-group ranks at roughly the same time as both. Pack is the current Pompey captain following his Fratton Park return in 2022. Ritchie has been linked with a return to the south coast after being released by Newcastle at the end of last season.