John David Swift (born 23 June 1995) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

for EFL Championship club

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

Early life

John David Swift was born on 23 June 1995 in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, Hampshire.

Club career

Early years

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, Swift began his career at Soccer City in

Fareham Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufact ...

, before moving to Kickers in

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...

. He joined local

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

in 2005, but was released after just one season. He joined Chandler's Ford Tornadoes, before spending six months with Premier League club Chelsea as an U13. Upon his release he joined Pace Youth in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

After interest from

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

, Portsmouth and

, Swift rejoined Chelsea after a successful trial in 2007.

Chelsea

Youth years

While still an U15, Swift made his U18 debut during the 2009–10 season. He was a part of the U15 team's success in the Junior Section of the

2010 Milk Cup The 2010 Northern Ireland Youth Soccer Tournament was the 2010 edition of a prestigious youth association football tournament that has been running annually since 1983. Teams from around the world competed in a week-long tournament in the North C ...

, scoring in a 3–0 victory over Cruz Azul in the final. Swift signed a scholarship deal at the end of the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season and was part of the U18 team which won the

2011–12 FA Youth Cup The FA Youth Cup 2011–12 was the 60th edition of the FA Youth Cup. The competition consisted of several rounds and was preceded by a qualifying competition, starting with the preliminary round which was followed by four qualifying rounds for n ...

. He made his U21 debut towards the end of the 2011–12 season and was awarded a four-year professional contract in July 2012. Swift alternated between the U18, U19 and U21 teams during the 2012–13 season and he cemented a place in the U21s the following year, scoring 9 goals in 26 appearances and winning the U21 Premier League title.

Senior

Swift began training with the first team in the latter stages of the 2013–14 season and was rewarded for his form with the U21s by being named as a substitute for the final match of the campaign versus

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

. He made his professional debut when he replaced

Eden Hazard Eden Michael Walter Hazard (born 7 January 1991) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid. Known for his creativity, dribbling, passing and vision, Hazard is considered o ...

in the dying minutes of the 2–1 victory. Swift spent the majority of the 2014–15 season away on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

and did not receive a first team call up.

Loan to Rotherham United

On 1 August 2014, Swift joined newly promoted Championship side Rotherham United on loan for the duration of the 2014–15 season. He made his debut as a substitute on the opening day of the season in a 1–0 away defeat to Derby County, replacing

Matt Derbyshire Matthew Anthony Derbyshire (born 14 April 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club NorthEast United. He played for Blackburn Rovers for five years, and had loan spells with Plymouth Argy ...

after 70 minutes. He made his first start for the Millers in the following match versus

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed in ...

in the League Cup first round, lasting 66 minutes of the extra time victory before being replaced by Matt Derbyshire. After two further appearances, Swift was consigned to the bench until 14 November, when he returned to Chelsea after failing to "make a significant impact" at the

New York Stadium The New York Stadium (known as the AESSEAL New York Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is a football stadium in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. Opened in July 2012, it is the home ground of Rotherham United. Its name was inspired by the com ...

. He made just four appearances for the club.

Loan to Swindon Town

On 3 January 2015, Swift joined high-flying League One club Swindon Town on loan until the end of the 2014–15 season. He began his time at the County Ground by making five consecutive starts and he scored his first professional goal on his third appearance, in a 3–1 victory over

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

. He netted again on 7 March, sending the Robins on their way to a 3–0 victory over Notts County. A fourth-place finish saw Swindon qualify for the

promotion playoffs Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or ...

, but Swift made just one appearance in the semi-final first leg versus Sheffield United, picking up a muscle strain, which saw him ruled out of the victorious second leg and the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

defeat to

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

. He made 19 appearances and scored two goals for Swindon.

Loan to Brentford

On 1 October 2015, Swift joined Championship side

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

on a loan which was later extended until the end of the 2015–16 season. He made his debut two days later as a second-half substitute for Toumani Diagouraga during a 2–0 defeat to Derby County. Deployed as a

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, Swift replaced

Konstantin Kerschbaumer Konstantin Kerschbaumer (born 1 July 1992) is an Austrian professional footballer who plays for Austrian club Wolfsberger AC as a central midfielder. Kerschbaumer came to prominence in his homeland with SKN St. Pölten, from whom he transferred ...

in the starting lineup for the following match versus former side Rotherham United and scored his first goal for the Bees with the opener in a 3–0 win over

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

on 24 October. He became a regular starter and scored the first

brace Brace(s) or bracing may refer to: Medical * Orthopaedic brace, a device used to restrict or assist body movement ** Back brace, a device limiting motion of the spine *** Milwaukee brace, a kind of back brace used in the treatment of spinal cur ...

of his career to send the Bees on the way to a 3–0 win over

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

on 23 February 2016, subsequently being named in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

Team of Midweek. After overcoming an achilles injury suffered on international duty, he scored his seventh goal of the season in a 5–1 rout of Huddersfield Town on the final day. Swift made 28 appearances during the season and returned to

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...

Reading

Swift signed a three-year contract, with the option of an additional year, with

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

on 14 July 2016. He scored on his Reading debut in a 1–0 win over

on 6 August 2016. On 27 March 2017, Swift was nominated for the EFL Young Player of the Year award along with

Ryan Ledson Ryan Graham Ledson (born 19 August 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Preston North End. Club career Everton Ledson joined Everton's academy at the age of five. After progressing through the ranks at the ...

and

Ollie Watkins Oliver George Arthur Watkins (born 30 December 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Aston Villa and the England national team. Watkins is a product of the Exeter City academy and made his breakthrough ...

. On 31 July 2017, Swift signed a new five-year contract with Reading, keeping him at the club until 2022. On 11 September 2021, he scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

, in a 3–3 draw against Queens Park Rangers.

West Brom

Swift signed a three-year contract with West Bromwich Albion on 26 May 2022 on a free transfer. On 30 July 2022, he made his competitive debut and scored the equalizing goal in a 1-1 draw against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

in the opening game of the championship season.

International career

Swift has represented England from U16 through to U21 level. He made his international debut in a Victory Shield defeat to Wales U16 on 15 October 2010. He was part of the U17 squad which won the 2011 FA International Tournament and the 2012 Algarve Tournament, but he could not help the team to qualify for the 2012 European U17 Championship. Swift made 9 appearances during the U19s' failed qualification attempts for the

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

and

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

European U19 Championships. Moving up to

U20 U20 or U-20 may refer to: Naval vessels * * , a sloop of the Royal Navy * , a submarine of the Austro-Hungarian Navy Other uses * Great truncated cuboctahedron * Meizu U20, a smartphone * Roland U-20, a synthesizer * Small nucleolar RNA SN ...

level for the 2014–15 season, Swift was a part of the squad which won the 2014 Four Nation Tournament and he finally scored his first international goal with the opener in a 2–1 victory over United States U20 on 29 March 2015. Swift was called into the U20 squad for the

2015 Toulon Tournament The 2015 Toulon Tournament was the 43rd edition of the Toulon Tournament. The competition began on 27 May and ended on 7 June 2015. Participants AFC * * CAF * * CONCACAF * * * UEFA * * * Source: Squads Venues Group stage Group A ...

and appeared in all of England's matches as the Young Lions finished fourth. In November 2015, Swift made his U21 debut with a start in a 3–1 2017 European U21 Championship qualifying win over

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. On 25 August 2016, he was called up for Gareth Southgate's U21 side to face Norway in a UEFA U21 Euro 2017 qualifier.

Personal life

Swift attended Brune Park school in

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...

and lived in the town until the age of 16.

Career statistics

Honours

England U17 *FA International U17 Tournament: 2011 *Algarve Tournament: 2012 England U20 *Four Nation Tournament: 2014 England U21 * Toulon Tournament:

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

References

External links

John Swift profile
at chelseafc.com
John Swift profile
at TheFA.com * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swift, John 1995 births Living people Footballers from Portsmouth English footballers England youth international footballers England under-21 international footballers Association football midfielders Chelsea F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Reading F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players