When Marcelo Bielsa finds a player he wants, the Leeds United boss tends to stick to his target like a limpet on a rock.
This summer, the Yorkshire giants revisited their long-standing interest in Rangers winger Ryan Kent and Cagliari enforcer Nahitan Nandez, before striking a £25 million deal for Daniel James – 18 months after the jet-heeled Wales international missed out on a deadline-day switch to Elland Road when still a Swansea City player.
And with John Swift in the form of his life at Reading, do not be surprised if the former Chelsea starlet also finds himself back on Leeds’ radar over the next couple of months.
“Swift is a great player,” Bielsa told Leeds Live in February 2020.
“I value him a lot. He is a player who appears suddenly in attack and the same in transition between defence and attack, but especially when he passes from the defence to the attack.”
Four months later, Swift appeared to be on his way to Bramall Lane instead, Sheffield United blowing their Yorkshire neighbours out of the water with a £3.5 million bid.
In end, however, the 26-year-old ended up staying at the Madejski and, after missing most of the 2020/21 season through injury, he has now returned fitter, faster and better than ever before.
Could John Swift still end up at Leeds United?
In seven games, Swift has scored seven goals and produced a further three assists this season – an outstanding tally for a central midfielder.
It is worth mentioning that his best ever tally for a single campaign, set back in 2016/17, is just nine.
Swift even followed up a first-ever career hat-trick in Saturday’s thrilling draw against Queens Park Rangers with a wondrous, Cristiano Ronaldo-style free-kick during the 3-1 midweek triumph over Peterborough United.
Talk about making up for lost time.
After Leeds hit the buffers in their pursuit of a new central midfielder during a frustrating summer transfer window, Swift’s sudden renaissance is unlikely to go unnoticed by Bielsa or anyone at Elland Road.
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