Portsmouth FC hailed as John Mousinho set to land transfer deal for "proven" ex-West Brom player | OneFootball

John Swift is set to return to Fratton Park after his departure from West Brom

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Portsmouth are set to confirm their second signing of the summer transfer window, and one which brings strong sentimental value with it, as John Swift returns to Fratton Park.

The experienced playmaker was released by Championship rivals, West Bromwich Albion, at the conclusion of last season, and following lengthy speculation of a return to the club who he featured for at youth level almost two decades ago, was reported to be having his medical in London ahead of signing a two-year deal with the Blues.

Pompey achieved their key target of survival under John Mousinho last term, and will hope to progress up the table after finishing in a respectable 16th place, five points ahead of Luton Town, who were relegated to League One.

After completing the signing of Adrian Segecic from Sydney FC on a three-year contract, Swift is set to be the next through the door as Mousinho remains linked with other targets in several departments.

The 30-year-old has become a 'household name' at this level within the past decade, and therefore, FLW's resident Pompey fan pundit, Miltos Ioannidis, has praised the club for completing the aforementioned transfer agreement.

Portsmouth FC praised for sealing John Swift agreement - he's "proven" at Championship level

In total, the midfielder has racked up 335 Championship appearances, scoring on 57 occasions whilst providing a further 50 assists for the likes of Albion and Reading, as well as in loan spells with Rotherham United and Brentford.

After starting just 19 league games and scoring thrice in a season of mass change at The Hawthorns last time out, some may have looked past the sentimentality and questioned why Mousinho has moved for Swift's signature, which is a viewpoint Ioannidis doesn't share.

"John Swift is a proven player at this level, and I think that this is a very good transfer because of that," Miltos told FLW.

"People will always find a way to complain about things. 'John Swift has just turned 30', 'free transfer', 'John Swift hasn't had the best of seasons'.

"But, we're talking about a player whose been consistently putting up some extremely decent numbers at this level for a period that has spanned almost 10 years now, that knows the level, has the know-how.

"This is exactly the sort of player we should be after at the moment, in my opinion.

"He only makes us a better side with him in it, so I'm really convinced with us signing him. The 'Pompey' connection can only make this transfer better - we've seen it with Marlon Park and Matt Ritchie - transfers that have definitely worked out.

"I'm really content and I can't wait to see him in a blue and white shirt come next season."

John Swift will add yet another creative dimension to exciting Portsmouth FC attack

Unquestionably, the connection with his hometown club will immediately buy Swift time with the Fratton Park faithful, but besides that, he adds yet another dimension to what is already an exciting attacking department at Mousinho's disposal.

The likes of Colby Bishop and the aforementioned Segecic - who netted 18 goals across all competitions last season - will only benefit from having a player of such high calibre and experience creating chances for them alongside Josh Murphy, who was the club's standout performer last season with 21 goal contributions.

Therefore, you would be hard-pressed to find many of a Pompey persuasion who see any issues with this deal, especially on a free transfer, with there also being a strong likelihood that Swift would have taken a pay cut from his ESTIMATED £22,500 per week contract in B71.