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View: Leeds must compete with PL club for 25y/o this summer, bid reportedly tabled
Leeds United could face competition in their efforts to sign Reading midfielder John Swift this summer.
The Whites were initially linked with a move for the 25-year-old earlier in the week by Football Insider, but Berkshire Live now suggest Sheffield United are also eager to snap him up, with a bid of £3.5 million reportedly tabled.
With that in mind, is it worth Leeds going toe-to-toe with their Yorkshire rivals for the ex-Chelsea youth player?
Swift’s stats are certainly impressive enough.
His pass completion rate of 84.6% this season is identical to Kalvin Phillips’ this term, but he also has a higher long pass completion rate, crossing accuracy, and dribbles success rate, as per Wyscout.
And to edge Phillips in terms of his distribution is no mean feat.
But Swift does a good job of it.
Take, for example, his performance against Sheffield Wednesday in February.
The Royals ace completed 96% of his passes, misplacing just two, and as you can see from the pass map above, was hugely influential.
Not only is there consistency to his passing, but there’s range and creativity too.
One example in particular really highlights the strengths in Swift’s game.
In the image above, the midfielder is the man just moving into possession on the halfway line.
He shows good pace and power to move past his man and into the space beyond.
Swift carries the ball a long way before offloading possession to his teammate out wide.
But the best part about this is that he continues his run.
His movement is so good that it draws the attention of both defenders, and drags them out of position.
This in turn leaves his teammate free on the edge of the box, completely dismantling any kind of organisation in the backline.
Just look at how much space he has created by the time he holds the ball up and lays it off to his teammate with a key pass.
That kind of forward thinking drive and intelligence is a fantastic trait in a midfielder, and is something that Leeds could surely use in the Premier League next term.
Provided the price doesn’t get pushed too high, we say that the Whites should push for him this summer.
In other Leeds United news, fans are fuming at this latest update from Sky Sports.