Exclusive: Don Goodman drops John Swift "regret" claim as West Brom exit looms | OneFootball

Don Goodman has shared his thoughts on out-of-contract West Bromwich Albion midfielder John Swift.

West Bromwich Albion midfielder John Swift is set to leave the club at the end of his contract this summer.

The 29-year-old has not started as many games as he would have liked in the Championship this season, which will no doubt be all the more frustrating after the Baggies fell short of achieving a top-six finish.

The former Chelsea youngster scored nine goals in the second tier last season, having made 15 goal contributions during the previous campaign, but he has failed to reproduce that kind of form this term.

Therefore, it should perhaps not come as a surprise that West Brom are set to release the midfielder when his contract comes to an end this summer, according to journalist Darren Witcoop.

The Baggies have finished in the top half in each of Swift's three seasons at the club, and reached the play-off semi-final in 2024, but he would have hoped to experience winning promotion to the Premier League when he first arrived at The Hawthorns in 2022.

Don Goodman fears Swift may regret West Brom spell

Sky Sports pundit, Don Goodman, spoke exclusively to Football League World about Swift's situation, amid reports that he will depart West Brom this summer.

"He is such a talented player, John Swift, a player that I really admire," Goodman said.

"But, I think, in all honesty, I do not think West Bromwich Albion fans have seen the best of him over his time there.

"He signed in July 2022 on a free transfer on big wages and I think we were all excited to see what he could do in a West Bromwich Albion shirt, but the fact that he has started less than half their league games this season, and been on the bench for most of the other games, just tells a story, really, that he was not consistent enough for Carlos Corberan and Tony Mowbray.

"I think, although he is a talented player, and he is 29 years old, he will still have a little bit of regret that he was not able to show his true potential and find that consistency we know he is capable of.

"I am not sure that he will get a better club than West Bromwich Albion going forward, but wherever he ends up, hopefully he will show the best of John Swift."

West Brom move has not gone to plan for Swift

While Swift has enjoyed some personal success during his time at West Brom, having reached double figures for goal contributions from midfield in consecutive seasons, he has been unable to achieve promotion to the top flight with the club.

Looking back at when Swift first joined the club three years ago, it is clear that promotion was his ambition, as per an interview on the official club website.

"Missing out on promotion last season didn't put me off coming here," he said.

"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 want to be a part of that."

Unfortunately, it seems as though Swift will leave West Brom without achieving his goal, but as Goodman said, he is a talented player, and it will be interesting to see what the short-term future holds for him ahead of next season.