I jumped at the chance of Baggies deal – Swift
JOHN Swift has expressed his delight at becoming West Brom’s first signing of the summer.
The talented 28-year-old midfielder has also become the first arrival of the Steve Bruce era, having joined on a free transfer from Reading.
Swift signed a three-year deal, which will see him remain at The Hawthorns until at least the summer of 2025, and does so after an outstanding individual season in an otherwise disappointing collective campaign for the Royals.
The former Chelsea trainee spent six years at Reading, scoring 11 goals and providing 13 assists last season.
He was considered to be one of the best free agents available at Championship level and it is something of a coup for Albion to have got him.
“I’m absolutely thrilled to be here and I genuinely can’t wait to get going,’’ said Swift. “I would say that whether you’ve seen me play once or over 100 times, I always try and play the same way.
“I’m really excited to come into this team and try to help it score more goals. When you look at the squad, there are some really good players here and I’m looking forward to the challenge of fighting all season for a shot at promotion.
“As soon as I was told Albion wanted to bring me to The Hawthorns, I jumped at the opportunity.
“For me, it wasn’t a case of holding Albion in place while also exploring other options or seeing if any other clubs were in for me. As soon as I knew, I wanted to come here.
“I’m sure the club would have wanted to finish much higher last season, but missing out on promotion didn’t put me off coming here because when you look at West Bromwich Albion in the Championship, you automatically think about them challenging at the top.
“It’s a massive club in this division and everyone here clearly wants to be pushing for promotion back to the Premier League.
“I wanted to be a part of that. I’ve had a few chats with Steve Bruce and he has set out what his intentions are. It was a really simple decision to join and I’m really keen to get started now.”