John Swift benefit mooted at West Brom if Grady Diangana leaves | OneFootball

FLW's West Bromwich Albion fan pundit discussed a potential upside if Grady Diangana seals a switch to Celta Vigo

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…

John Swift has been backed to gain a more prominent role in Tony Mowbray's West Bromwich Albion side, should star playmaker Grady Diangana seal a potential switch to Celta Vigo in the remaining days of the winter transfer window.

In terms of new arrivals, it has been a rather quiet month at the Hawthorns. Mowbray made an emotional return to the club earlier this month following Carlos Corberan's exit to Valencia but has only added one signing to date in Isaac Price from Standard Liege, while Caleb Taylor represents the sole departure after heading back on loan to Wycombe Wanderers for the remainder of the current campaign.

Albion are in fifth place and remain very much in contention to finish the season inside the top-six for the second term running, meaning Mowbray will be eager to retain the core of his squad going into the back-end of the campaign. However, he could well be forced to make do without Diangana, who has earned interest ahead of a potential exit from the West Midlands.

Celta Vigo's transfer interest in West Brom's Grady Diangana

It would be no surprise to see Diangana complete an exit from the club in the coming days. The talented 26-year-old is out of contract in the summer and has reportedly rejected a new three-year contract from the Baggies in favour of a move elsewhere.

Diangana is also said to have rebuffed a contract offer made by Championship rivals Burnley, who wanted to acquire him on a free transfer for next season, with the playmaker seemingly keen on sealing a move to Celta Vigo.

As per reports, the ex-West Ham United attacker has 'reached an agreement' with the LaLiga side, leaving Albion and Celta Vigo to negotiate a deal.

The Baggies are demanding around €3 million (£2. million) for Diangana and, for the time being at least, it remains unclear whether the player's Spanish suitors intend to meet that sum upfront or hold their nerve for six months to land him on a free transfer come the summer.

The four-cap DR Congo international has endured a mixed four-and-a-half year stay at Albion, but is enjoying impressive form at the minute after a difficult start to the season.

Diangana has been favoured by new boss Mowbray thus far and directed their 5-1 rout of Portsmouth last weekend, scoring two goals and making two assists.

Losing a player as talented as Diangana would represent a sizable blow for the play-off hopefuls, make no mistake about it. However, it could open the door for increased opportunities for others to seize with both hands, with fellow midfielder Swift potentially poised to see his role elevated in the side.

The experienced midfielder has started 13 of his 26 Championship appearances this term, with Diangana getting the nod in his favoured attacking midfield position during recent weeks.

John Swift backed for bigger West Brom impact if Grady Diangana joins Celta Vigo

FLW asked our Baggies fan pundit, Callum Burgess, whether he believes Diangana's potential departure could benefit any players in particular at the club.

Callum believes the door will be opened for Swift and a number of academy prospects, likening that outcome to Tom Fellows' first-team breakthrough after Brighton and Hove Albion recalled Jeremy Sarmiento last time out.

"You would imagine the exit of Grady Diangana would open the door for John Swift to be the starting attacking midfielder for the rest of the season, although he did have a great performance on Saturday starting in a deeper role alongside Alex Mowatt," Callum told FLW.

"You would imagine that we would only see that again against some of the relegation-threatened teams in the division, so I don't think that's a long-term idea.

So it could open the door for Swift to be starting consistently and some players coming through the academy - the likes of Harry Whitwell and Ollie Bostock - and if Tony Mowbray feels they're ready they could get more first-team minutes and we could see somebody break through into the first-team like we saw with Tom Fellows last season.