Aston Villa assistant manager John Terry has admitted on Instagram Live that he is surprised that John Swift didn’t get purchased by a Premier League club last summer.
Swift, who currently plays for Reading, has been one of the standout players in the Championship this term and Terry is confident that the playmaker can perform at the top level.
“I love Swifty,” he said. “He’s been on fire at Reading and they’re playing well as well. Great lad, really good player. I’m surprised nobody came in for him. I think he can make the step up to the Premier League.”
The comments are interesting as Villa were one of the clubs most heavily linked with Swift over the summer.
The Birmingham Mail suggested that Villa were set to make an offer for Swift, but they never managed to get a deal over the line.
The reasons behind that are not yet clear, but Dean Smith may have just decided that Ross Barkley was a safer option than plucking an untested player out of the Championship.
While Terry remains at Villa, Swift may still remain on the claret and blues’ radar, though.
And it will now be interesting to see whether Villa do make a bid for him at the end of the season, given Terry’s latest comments.
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