[ad_pod ]
According to Football Insider, Leeds United are lining up a £7m summer bid for Reading midfielder John Swift whichever division they find themselves in next season, but where would he fit in at Elland Road?
On the chalkboard
Well, it would certainly be no surprise if Marcelo Bielsa was looking for another option in the middle of the park given some of the issues he has had to deal with at times this season.
Injuries and suspensions have often led to the Yorkshire outfit being short in these key areas, with Tyler Roberts a prime example of this in recent weeks with the striker performing in more of a No.10 role.
Leeds signed Lewis Baker from Chelsea on a season-long loan deal last summer but the move failed to work out and he returned to Stamford Bridge early, with the 23-year-old failing to prove that he was the right fit in a Bielsa side.
Swift is different
In a team struggling at the bottom of the Championship, the 23-year-old has been a real shining light for the Royals.
As well as providing five goals and three assists in 34 appearances in the league this term, he has that turn of pace, skill and eye for a forward pass in the middle of the park that the likes of Adam Forshaw and Mateusz Klich sometimes lack.
The fact that he has completed 1.6 key passes and 1.4 dribbles on average every game this season compared to 1.3 and 0.7 for Klich certainly backs that up.
The Poland international has flittered between the No.8 and No.10 roles for the Whites throughout the current campaign, but he has shown for his country that he is able to play a deeper one effectively given his high work rate.
Swift, who can also play both effectively, would be able to take up the No.10 position and with Kalvin Phillips making the defensive midfield role his own, it would leave Forshaw out of the starting XI consistently.
