John Swift, the attacker for West Brom, has had an incredible start to the current Championship season and will be greatly missed.
In the final game before the international break earlier this month, the 28-year-old was forced off late in the league match against Birmingham City. The West Brom website reported on October 10 that he will miss around six weeks due to a calf issue.
With Swift scoring six goals in his first 11 games, manager Carlos Corberan will sorely miss his leading scorer. In the standings, the only players with more points than him are Sunderland’s Jack Clarke, Southampton’s Adam Armstrong, and Blackburn Rovers’ Sammie Szmodics, all of whom have seven.
However, Swift has not only scored goals; in that matchup with Birmingham, the attacker won five of his six duels, finished both of his dribbling attempts, and recorded an 88% pass success rate [Sofascore]. It should come as no surprise that Swift leads his team in Sofascore ratings for the current season (7.37), with midfielder Alex Mowatt coming in closest (7.27).
Due to his current performance, the player is rightfully included in David Prutton’s Championship Team of the Season thus far. On October 17, Prutton said on Sky Sports in response to a question about whether the Baggies star was one of Corberan’s top players: “One of them, it’s a good squad that should have been doing better than it has been and John Swift seems to have been part of the Championship conversation for such a long time.”
“However, I believe that what we’re witnessing in the first few weeks of the season is a player who is growing more clinical, which should help Baggies supporters like you.” Now that Swift is out, Corberan must carry on without his star player. If Albion is to have any chance of making a real run for promotion, the other attackers must step up.
