John Swift blown away by one West Brom team-mate in pre-season training
John Swift labelled Brandon Thomas-Asante as the West Brom team-mate who has impressed him most during pre-season training thus far.
The forward scored nine times in 35 appearances across all competitions in his debut campaign with the Baggies, after joining from Salford City.
Head coach Carlos Corberan has been putting his squad through their paces ahead of the next campaign, and Swift acknowledged the impressive fitness levels of Thomas-Asante.
“I’d have to say Brandon has impressed me the most in pre-season so far, especially with the running,” Swift told the club’s official website in quotes reported by the Express & Star.
“I don’t think I realised how fit he actually was.
“You see in matches how quick he can be and how much he can put defenders under pressure with his running, but actually over a long distance, the ability to just keep going and going and going is something he’s really strong at.
“I think a lot of the lads have been really impressed with Brandon so far.”
Big campaign for Thomas-Asante
West Brom’s financial woes have been well documented and the money concerns off the pitch mean that incomings are going to likely be frees and loans this window.
With captain Dara O’Shea already sold to Burnley, other sales are likely to follow in a bid to try and alleviate some of the debts that have mounted at The Hawthorns.
Among those is winger Grady Diangana, who has been linked with a move to relegated Premier League sides Leicester City and Leeds United.
If dangerman Diangana does move on, it would put more onus on Thomas-Asante who enjoyed a solid first season at West Brom following his switch from Salford.
Corberan is going to need to work largely with what he has during pre-season and the Spaniard will no doubt be keen to lots of work to get Thomas-Asante fit and firing from the off.
So, it is definitely good news for Baggies fans to hear Swift’s words during pre-season.
In other West Brom news, updates are expected imminently with eight contract offers on the table.