The classy moment in newcomer's 31-minute cameo which offers tantalising hope to Portsmouth faithful
The former Chelsea, Reading and West Brom man has featured once in pre-season for the Blues so far
Having deftly controlled the ball with his right foot, with laser precision the central midfielder instinctively threaded a delightful pass deep into the right-hand channel.
The target was Paddy Lane, whose forward movement had been spotted impressively early. What’s more, the winger was not required to check his run or ramp up pace to collect it, such was the unerring accuracy of the delivery into his path to carve open Crawley’s defence.
John Swift’s 31-minute cameo last Saturday was brief, yet entirely necessary, having only linked up with his new team-mates earlier in the week building up to the friendly.
Nonetheless, it was a beautifully simplistic moment which provided a tantalising glimpse of what the former Chelsea man is capable of, even though few were present, due to the behind-closed-doors nature of the fixture.
A touch of class from Portsmouth newcomer
Admittedly, given the context of the game and the calibre of opposition, in this case League Two, little credence should be given to that flash of talent. As first impressions go, though, the touch of class was heartening.
The Fratton faithful will be handed the opportunity to assess the 30-year-old for themselves on Saturday, with the Blues visiting Reading for their latest pre-season fixture.
Ironically it’s a return to Swift’s former club and, considering he’s in a squad containing just two new signings to date, he will surely occupy most of the travelling supporters’ attention at the Madejski Stadium.
Midfield identified as key position for Portsmouth to strengthen
Following the departures of Freddie Potts and Isaac Hayden, plus the ongoing exile of Abdoulaye Kamara, John Mousinho had rightly identified the centre of midfield as a priority position to strengthen.
Irrespective of ongoing pursuits of Mark Kosznovszky and Pelle Mattsson, the first arrival to fill that gulf has been Swift, marking a return to the club which released him from their youth set-up 19 years earlier.
Mousinho has already indicated he wishes to use the ex-West Brom man as a number eight, operating a little ahead of the customary holding midfielder.
In the starting line-up against Crawley, Pack was his midfield partner, albeit in a deeper role positioned in front of the back four, while Adrian Segecic again operated as the number 10 in the injured Callum Lang’s absence.
Occupying the space between was Swift, whose 31 minutes on pitch was pre-determined - as was the decision to introduce Andre Dozzell off the bench to replace him when the allotted time had been reached.
As expected, he looked neat and tidy, yet in a low-tempo fixture at a training ground without any supporters present, it would always be difficult to stand out. Particularly for those playing the fewest minutes, such as the newcomer.
Certainly patience is required with Swift, having been without a club at the start of the pre-season. He instead attended the Leicestershire-based PFA pre-season training camp for out-of-work footballers, before being recruited on a two-year deal by the Blues at the start of last week.
While the vast majority of his new team-mates having turned out against Woking and Farnborough, he continues to play catch up, although at Reading will naturally feature for longer than his Crawley cameo.
31 goals in 202 games for Reading
Certainly the midfielder will have fond memories of Madejski Stadium days, where he spent six seasons before departing for West Brom on a free transfer in May 2022.
During his time in Berkshire, Swift netted 31 times in 202 matches, while in his maiden 2016-17 campaign was shortlisted for the EFL Young Player of the Year.
Still, Saturday promises to be the next step in ensuring he is first-team ready for the opening match of the season at Oxford United on August 9., where the Gosport lad is surely a likely starter.
In the meantime, in terms of wearing a Pompey shirt, a 31-minute outing against Crawley is only evidence to judge to date. And one first-half pass, in particular, offers a little hope.
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