John David Swift (born 23 June 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion.
![]() Swift playing for Brentford F.C. in 2015 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | John David Swift | ||
Date of birth | (1995-06-23) 23 June 1995 (age 27) | ||
Place of birth | Portsmouth, England | ||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.82 m)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Attacking midfielder[2] | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | West Bromwich Albion | ||
Number | 19 | ||
Youth career | |||
2005–2006 | Portsmouth | ||
2006 | Chelsea | ||
2006 | Pace Youth F.C. | ||
2007–2014 | Chelsea | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2014–2016 | Chelsea | 1 | (0) |
2014 | → Rotherham United (loan) | 4 | (0) |
2015 | → Swindon Town (loan) | 18 | (2) |
2015–2016 | → Brentford (loan) | 27 | (7) |
2016–2022 | Reading | 187 | (31) |
2022– | West Bromwich Albion | 15 | (3) |
National team | |||
2010 | England U16 | 1 | (0) |
2011–2012 | England U17 | 10 | (0) |
2012 | England U18 | 1 | (0) |
2012–2014 | England U19 | 11 | (0) |
2014–2015 | England U20 | 7 | (1) |
2015–2017 | England U21 | 13 | (1) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:22, 28 October 2022 (UTC) |
John David Swift[3] was born on 23 June 1995[4] in Portsmouth, Hampshire.[5]
A midfielder, Swift began his career at Soccer City in Fareham, before moving to Kickers in Eastleigh.[6] He joined local Premier League club Portsmouth in 2005, but was released after just one season.[6] He joined Chandler's Ford Tornadoes, before spending six months with Premier League club Chelsea as an U13.[6] Upon his release he joined Pace Youth in Southampton After interest from Fulham, Portsmouth and Southampton,[7] Swift rejoined Chelsea after a successful trial in 2007.[8]
While still an U15, Swift made his U18 debut during the 2009–10 season.[9] He was a part of the U15 team's success in the Junior Section of the 2010 Milk Cup, scoring in a 3–0 victory over Cruz Azul in the final.[10] Swift signed a scholarship deal at the end of the 2010–11 season and was part of the U18 team which won the 2011–12 FA Youth Cup.[9][11] He made his U21 debut towards the end of the 2011–12 season and was awarded a four-year professional contract in July 2012.[9] 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.[9][12]
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.[13] He made his professional debut when he replaced Eden Hazard in the dying minutes of the 2–1 victory.[14] Swift spent the majority of the 2014–15 season away on loan and did not receive a first team call up.[15]
On 1 August 2014, Swift joined newly promoted Championship side Rotherham United on loan for the duration of the 2014–15 season.[16] 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 after 70 minutes.[17] He made his first start for the Millers in the following match versus Fleetwood Town in the League Cup first round,[15] lasting 66 minutes of the extra time victory before being replaced by Matt Derbyshire.[18] After two further appearances, Swift was consigned to the bench until 14 November,[15] when he returned to Chelsea after failing to "make a significant impact" at the New York Stadium.[19] He made just four appearances for the club.[20]
On 3 January 2015, Swift joined high-flying League One club Swindon Town on loan until the end of the 2014–15 season.[21] 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.[22] He netted again on 7 March, sending the Robins on their way to a 3–0 victory over Notts County.[23] A fourth-place finish saw Swindon qualify for the promotion playoffs, but Swift made just one appearance in the semi-final first leg versus Sheffield United, picking up a muscle strain,[24] which saw him ruled out of the victorious second leg and the final defeat to Preston North End.[15] He made 19 appearances and scored two goals for Swindon.[20]
On 1 October 2015, Swift joined Championship side Brentford on a loan which was later extended until the end of the 2015–16 season.[25] He made his debut two days later as a second-half substitute for Toumani Diagouraga during a 2–0 defeat to Derby County.[26] Deployed as a right winger,[27] Swift replaced Konstantin Kerschbaumer 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 on 24 October.[28] He became a regular starter and scored the first brace of his career to send the Bees on the way to a 3–0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on 23 February 2016, subsequently being named in the Football League Team of Midweek.[28][29] After overcoming an achilles injury suffered on international duty,[30] he scored his seventh goal of the season in a 5–1 rout of Huddersfield Town on the final day.[31] Swift made 28 appearances during the season and returned to Stamford Bridge.[31][32]
Swift signed a three-year contract, with the option of an additional year, with Reading on 14 July 2016.[33] He scored on his Reading debut in a 1–0 win over Preston North End on 6 August 2016.[34]
On 27 March 2017, Swift was nominated for the EFL Young Player of the Year award along with Ryan Ledson and Ollie Watkins.[35]
On 31 July 2017, Swift signed a new five-year contract with Reading, keeping him at the club until 2022.[36] On 11 September 2021, he scored a hat-trick, in a 3–3 draw against Queens Park Rangers.[37]
Swift signed a three-year contract with West Bromwich Albion on 26 May 2022 on a free transfer.[38] On 30 July 2022, he made his competitive debut and scored the equalizing goal in a 1-1 draw against Middlesbrough in the opening game of the championship season.[39]
Swift has represented England from U16 through to U21 level.[40] He made his international debut in a Victory Shield defeat to Wales U16 on 15 October 2010.[40] He was part of the U17 squad which won the 2011 FA International Tournament and the 2012 Algarve Tournament,[41][42] but he could not help the team to qualify for the 2012 European U17 Championship.[43] Swift made 9 appearances during the U19s' failed qualification attempts for the 2013 and 2014 European U19 Championships.[43] Moving up to U20 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.[44][45] Swift was called into the U20 squad for the 2015 Toulon Tournament and appeared in all of England's matches as the Young Lions finished fourth.[44] In November 2015, Swift made his U21 debut with a start in a 3–1 2017 European U21 Championship qualifying win over Switzerland. On 25 August 2016, he was called up for Gareth Southgate's U21 side to face Norway in a UEFA U21 Euro 2017 qualifier.[46]
Swift attended Brune Park school in Gosport and lived in the town until the age of 16.[6][8]
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Chelsea | 2013–14[48] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
2014–15[49] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
2015–16[31] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
Rotherham United (loan) | 2014–15[49] | Championship | 3 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
Swindon Town (loan) | 2014–15[49] | League One | 18 | 2 | — | — | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 19 | 2 | ||
Brentford (loan) | 2015–16[31] | Championship | 27 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 7 | ||
Reading | 2016–17[50] | Championship | 36 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 42 | 9 |
2017–18[51] | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 26 | 2 | |||
2018–19[52] | 34 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 37 | 4 | |||
2019–20[53] | 41 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 45 | 6 | |||
2020–21[54] | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 1 | |||
2021–22[55] | 38 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 38 | 11 | |||
Total | 187 | 31 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 202 | 33 | ||
Career total | 236 | 40 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 254 | 42 |
England U17
England U20
England U21
Reading F.C. – current squad | |
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