Portsmouth deal being eyed by departing West Brom player - he's played over 300 Championship games | OneFootball

The midfielder played for south coast club's academy.

Portsmouth-born midfielder John Swift is open to going back to his boyhood club following his release from West Bromwich Albion.

John Mousinho has assured the Pompey faithful that he will have more money to work with this summer than he has had over the previous two transfer windows.

Still, despite the relatively miniscule budget, he managed to guide the club to Championship safety in their first campaign back in the division.

Now Portsmouth are looking to build on their performances from last season, and that will require them to learn from their mistakes. They brought in a lot of unproven commodities that turned out not to be what they thought they were.

Some of the more successful acquisitions, Jacob Murphy and homeboy Matt Ritchie, were established names in this country. Pompey are now looking to go down a similar path in their midfield recruitment.

John Swift open to Portsmouth return as a free agent

Mousinho's squad isn't packed with Championship-level centre-midfielders, but the chance to add one in the form of Swift may be upon them sooner than later.

The 29-year-old is "significantly" interested in returning to the south coast, where he grew up, to play for Portsmouth, according to The News.

He was released by West Brom after the end of the 2024/25 campaign, and, despite interest from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United States, Swift is most excited about the prospect of playing at Fratton Park next season. He was a part of the club's academy system before joining Chelsea as a youngster in 2006.

His Premier League hopes were never realised, but he has developed himself into a very capable player in the second tier. Swift started 36 times for Albion last season and 37 in the season before that when the Baggies finished in the top six.

John Swift, Portmsouth match is a perfect one

The midfielder can be deployed in a range of positions across the centre of the pitch, from the heart of it to the flanks or even as an attacking option. He is said to have held talks with two unnamed second-tier managers, but the returns to the area of Ritchie and Marlon Pack, and the success they have had in their endeavours, is proving to be a big pulling factor for Swift.

He fits what Mousinho would want, and the move back to the south coast, where his family still lives, makes total sense for him.

The one factor the two parties would have to contend with is his wages, which, currently, would be a lot higher than any other Pompey player, but Swift is realistic about the sort of money he'd be able to demand compared to what he was previously on at the Hawthorns, as per The News.

If that can be sorted, then what a first addition of the summer this would be for Portsmouth.