John Swift rejects Chelsea extension, signs with Reading
By Siva Sankar
After a summer of uncertainty regarding his future, out of contract Chelsea midfielder John Swift has signed a three year deal with Reading.
On the back of a successful loan spell in the Championship with Brentford last season, Swift rejected Chelsea’s offer for a contract extension and chose to move away permanently. Reading manager Jaap Stam spoke to Reading FC’s official website about Swift’s move and had only good things to say.
"John is a very talented player. I’ve seen him play and I think he could be very important in the way we want to play. He can play as a winger on either side, or as an attacking midfielder. His physique is good, he is good on the ball, he has the pace to get past players, and he has the capability of putting his teammates in front of goal with chances to score. He is going to be a big asset for the club."
John Swift joined Chelsea as an U13 back in 2007 and has since been part of several successful Chelsea youth teams, lifting the FA Youth cup in 2012 as an U18 alongside Nathaniel Chalobah, Nathan Ake and Lewis Baker.
An ambitious youngster, Swift spent time with Frank Lampard developing various aspects of his game, which paid off as his goalscoring rate exploded. He and Lewis Baker powered Chelsea to an U21 Premier League title win in 2013-14 with Swift scoring an impressive 15 goals in the season.
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He ended the season having made his senior debut at Chelsea, but it remains his only appearance in a blue shirt at the professional level. He made a total of 109 appearances for Chelsea youth teams at U18-U21 levels scoring 24 goals.
Following loan spells at Rotherham United and Swindon Town, Swift joined Brentford last season and impressed all three of his managers in an up and down season. He scored a total of 7 goals in 28 appearances, second only to Marco van Ginkel’s 8 of all the club’s loanees.
He has been a fixture in various age groups for England and was part of the Toulon-winning England U21 squad earlier this summer.
After a lot of speculation about his future, this move doesn’t come as a surprise. Swift was easily one of the most impressive youngsters in the Championship last season and plenty of clubs would have been interested in securing his services regardless of his Chelsea extension.
But, with an eye on his future, Swift chose to move away permanently in search of stability and playing time. Even though Swift was a free agent, since he is under the age of 24, he will fetch a transfer fee from Reading which will be set by a tribunal.
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Swift has all the tools to succeed at the top level and should be playing in the Premier League in a couple of years, either with Reading or some other club. Sad as it is to see John Swift go, this move is probably the right decision for him.