Former Portsmouth midfielder swaps Championship for National League South
Midfielder was one of three players released by Pompey at the end of the 2025-26 season.
Midfielder Reuben Swann has found a new footballing home following his Pompey release.
The 20-year-old, who joined the Blues from AFC Sudbury for an undisclosed fee in 2024, has signed for non-league side Braintree Town.
He was one of six new signings announced by the National League South side on Friday and could make his Iron debut in a pre-season friendly against Brightlingsea Regent today (Saturday, July 11).
Swann officially left Fratton Park upon the expiry of his contract at the end of June. The youngster departed after failing to make any senior appearances for Pompey during his two-year stint at PO4, with the Blues deciding against triggering their 12-month extension option.
The midfielder was named on the bench for Pompey’s final Championship game of 2025-26 season against Birmingham without being used.
He was also an unused substitute when the Blues beat Millwall at The Den in February as Mousinho’s side struggled with injuries.
That was the first time Swann had made a competitive match-day for Pompey, with the former Sudbury player enjoying three separate loan spells at Havant & Waterlooville during his time at Fratton Park. Injuries also impacted his progress at PO4.
Following the conclusion of his last stint at Westleigh Park in February, Mousinho challenged the midfielder to prove he had a Fratton Park future.
He told The News: ‘It’s time for us to see how he has progressed off the back of a pretty good loan at Havant. They wanted him back, but we decided that, with our squad numbers, we want him here. I want to have a proper look at him.
‘For Reuben, it’s going to be more beneficial now for me to see him every single day. Even when he plays for Havant, it’s difficult for me to get to games and difficult for me to see a huge amount of what he does - so I think this would be good for him.
‘With his contract up, it’s only fair on him to give him this spell and see how he is progressing.
‘It has been stop-start for Reuben here, a lot of the time because of injuries. He has a lot of promise and we have seen that in a couple of pre-season games.
‘He’s powerful, he can drive with the ball, technically he is pretty good, it’s just consistency. If he can put all of that together on a constituent basis in training and hopefully show us enough, then we’ll see where it goes.’
Swann was told he could leave Pompey at the end of the season along with Jordan Archer and Harry Clout.