'There's nothing worse' - John Swift shares latest on future amid Portsmouth, Rangers and Derby County links
Pompey linked John Swift is still waiting for his future to be sorted
Free-agent John Swift has admitted he’s excited about what the future holds for him - despite a Pompey homecoming looking increasingly unlikely.
The 30-year-old attacking midfielder is currently without a club following the expiry of his West Brom contract at the end of the June.
Swift’s currently working on his fitness and sharpness at a PFA-led pre-season training camp at Champney Springs in Leicestershire as he awaits news of his next move.
There have been reports of plenty of interest in the former Chelsea and Reading man who made 126 appearances and registered 31 goal contributions during his three-year stint with the Baggies.
Rangers, Stoke, Derby County and Norwich have all been credited with a keenness on his talent - as have Pompey, with The News understanding that the Gosport-born midfielder would be open to an emotional return to Fratton Park, having been briefly on the Blues’ books as a youngster.
That prospect appears to be dwindling as sporting director Rich Hughes and head coach John Mousinho concentrate their search for reinforcements elsewhere.
In the meantime, though, Swift has teamed up with fellow free agents to ensure he gets the appropriate level of group training he’ll need in the tank for when his phone eventually rings.
And despite his next move remaining unknown, he’s excited by what the future holds.
‘There’s nothing worse than just being sat home, going to the gym, waiting for your agent to call, hoping that it’s sooner rather than later,’ Birmingham Live quote Swift as saying. ‘So I’d rather come in and just do this.
‘It’s somewhere to come, get back fit and get on the pitch, because you can’t replicate what you do out there in the gym.
‘As soon as you turn 30 I think the options become a little bit sparse, but now I’m excited to see where I go next.’
Pompey’s search for attacking reinforcements
As well as Swift being open to a move to Pompey this summer, The News understands that Pompey held tentative talks with the player’s representatives about a free-transfer move to Fratton Park.
Nothing concrete has emerged from those initial discussions, however, despite the Blues wanting to boost their attacking options during the summer.
Young Aussie attacking midfielder Adrian Segeic has already been recruited and currently remains Pompey’s only signing to date during the transfer window.
Other attack-minded players have been linked, including Westerlo’s Griffin Yow, Crystal Palace youngster Hindolo Mustapha and Brescia’s Patrick Nuamah. However, the Blues are yet to add to their ranks further, with their Championship season opener against Oxford United on August 9 just a month away.
Speaking to The News last week, though, Mousinho said he was relaxed with what Pompey have achieved so far in this window.
He said: ‘We’re really comfortable (with what’s been done so far).
‘What we want to do is make sure that we sign players that are going to impact the first team, so being able to bring in Adrian really early, I was really satisfied with that.
‘I’m really happy that we’ve brought in a player who can come in and play straight away and we want to continue to do that.
‘We’ve got a really solid base in terms of the squad and what we want to do on top of that is just add players who can come in and challenge for the starting line up.’
As well as interest from the Championship and Scottish Premiership, clubs in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the MLS have also made their admiration for Swift known.
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