Aston Villa could reportedly make a move for former Chelsea youth player and current Reading midfielder John Swift.
The 25-year-old was one of many players to come through the Chelsea academy, but never got the chance to show his ability in the senior team.
As per Reading Chronicle, Villa, as well as Sheffield United, are interested in the talented midfielder.
The report states that Dean Smith could make a move for Swift if Villa sell their captain and chief playmaker, Jack Grealish. Swift has two years remaining on his contract at Reading.
In the recently concluded season, Swift scored 6 goals and assisted 10 times in 41 appearances in the Championship.
John Swift to Aston Villa – Good business by the club?
John Swift is a supremely talented playmaker, who can play in a couple of different positions. He is primarily a central midfielder, but is capable of playing further forward as an attacking midfielder.
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The former England Under-21 international is a player with great vision, who picks out teammates with clever passes. He averaged 47.5 passes per game, including 5 long balls and 2.3 key passes per game in the Championship.
The midfielder can hold the ball well, ride challenges, and wriggle his way past defenders to put in crosses and passes. He possesses great strength with the ball at his feet and likes to dribble past opposition defenders. Swift is a player with great confidence in his abilities, and looks to play forward at all times.
The former Chelsea midfielder would be a great fit for Aston Villa. He has vast experience, having played 150 games for Reading, scoring 22 goals and assisting 23 times.
He could make his way straight into the Aston Villa starting lineup, and slot alongside John McGinn. The two could form a good attack-minded midfield partnership, if things go well of course.
While he does not offer versatility like Jack Grealish, who can play as a midfielder or a winger – and be equally effective in both positions – he does have the ability to open defences with his passing, as well as his dribbling.
The addition of Swift could give Smith a lot of options in midfield, with the likes of McGinn, Conor Hourihane and Douglas Luiz settling well in the Premier League.
The Villa manager also knows how good Swift is and what he can offer, as he managed him in the 2015-16 season, when he was the manager of Brentford, and Swift was on a loan spell from Chelsea.
Stats via Whoscored
