West Brom target set for Reading contract meeting as transfer 'far from done'

The potential free transfer signing of Reading playmaker John Swift by West Bromwich Albion is understood to be "far from done", according to our colleagues at BerkshireLive .

Albion have been linked with a move for the 26-year-old this summer as the player's contract is set to expire along with 13 others at the club. Swift played a key role in keeping Reading in the second-tier last season, scoring 11 times and assisting another 13 goals.

The Berkshire-based side were down at the wrong end of the Championship table in large due to a six-point deduction received at the end of last year for breaching profit and sustainability rules. As part of an EFL business plan agreed upon being handed the penalty, the Royals must cut £5million from their wage bill this summer.

With Swift one of the club's higher earners in recent years as their prized asset and joint longest-serving player, an exit would make a sizeable dent in that target. BerkshireLive, however, understand that Reading still hold out hope of retaining the attacking midfielder and are expected to meet with the player's representatives at the end of the week to discuss his future to see if a deal to stay can be struck.

Any new deal would, though, require a significant pay cut from the previous contract terms. That is without mentioning that five clubs are understood to be keeping tabs on the player becoming a free agent at the end of June.

Swift has previously admitted that the situation is "not really in (his) hands," and it is the club who have the decision to make. The playmaker has spent the last six seasons in Berkshire since signing from Chelsea.