'It's only fair': Portsmouth boss addresses Reuben Swann's Fratton Park future as clock ticks down
The midfielder has spent three loan spells at Havant & Waterlooville in two seasons
Reuben Swann has been challenged to show he is worthy of a Pompey future.
And John Mousinho has ruled out sending the 20-year-old back on loan in favour of assessing his first-team credentials in training.
The former AFC Sudbury youngster is out of contract at the season’s end, although the Blues hold a 12-month option.
Pompey’s ongoing injury problems meant Swann was recalled from his Hawks loan last month and was named on the bench in the 3-1 win at Millwall, albeit unused.
Nonetheless, it represented the first time he had been named in Mousinho’s squad for a competitive fixture since arriving in June 2024.
And while the Blues’ head coach is adamant Swann possesses ‘a lot of promise’, he has thrown down the gauntlet to the midfielder to prolong his Fratton Park stay.
‘I want to have a proper look at him’
Mousinho told The News: ‘I don’t think so (loaning Swann out again), we’re going to keep him around and have a proper look at him.
‘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.’
Three loan spells in two seasons with the Hawks
Swann had joined the Hawks for a third spell on an initial month’s loan in mid-December, yet subsequently struggled for first-team starts with the Southern League Premier South side.
Last month he was named man of the match in a goalless draw against Basingstoke Town, having been introduced at half-time, while his final outing was coming off the bench in the 87th minute of a 1-0 win at Weymouth.
Meanwhile, injuries restricted Swann to just 45 minutes of Pompey’s pre-season programme last summer, his sole involvement ironically arriving against the Hawks in a goalless Westleigh Park draw in July.
‘Technically he has improved, his game understanding has got better’
Mousinho added: ‘Reuben came to us as a young lad who physically needed that improvement first and foremost - and he has done that.
‘He has taken the niggles out of his game over the past few months, now he needs to try to stay fit and on top of that. Technically he has improved, his game understanding has got better.
‘Ultimately, we will see that over the next few months. We are in the Championship and it’s a real challenge for him, he is still a very young lad, there’s plenty of promise and plenty of opportunity there.
‘It’s up to him to show us what he can do.’