West Bromwich Albion bowed out of the Championship playoffs at the hands of Southampton, with Russell Martin's Saints turning over the Baggies 3-1 in the second leg to the collective heartbreak of the West Midlands outfit.
A late consolation goal from Cedric Kipre couldn't even really raise a smile on the faces of the Baggies away end, who will now wait anxiously to see if the likes of Kipre will stay put in the summer with the ex-Wigan Athletic man's contract up just next month.
Other notable names such as Alex Mowatt are also on the verge of exiting the Hawthorns for nothing if a new deal cannot be reached, despite the former Leeds United midfielder standing out for Carlos Corberan's men this campaign with seven goal contributions from 48 games.
The Baggies wouldn't be too despondent if a midfield teammate of Mowatt's was to up and leave, however, especially with West Brom being able to demand a fee out of the lacklustre player in question with his contract in place until 2025.
John Swift's season in numbers
John Swift could find he is now offloaded in the summer after having an up-and-down season for his employers which started with so much promise.
The former Chelsea attacking midfielder would bag three goals in his first five Championship games of the campaign, starting the season at a blistering pace which was always going to be difficult to maintain.
Swift would finish the campaign with an impressive nine strikes overall, but just a meagre one assist would be tallied up, which is surprising for a midfielder playing in such a creative role for his side.
Only three of those nine goals have come this calendar year, with Corberan opting to start the likes of Grady Diangana in the number ten spot over Swift to showcase his fall down the pecking order.
Recurring injury issues have constantly stopped him in his tracks at the Baggies and at his former employers in Reading, where the 28-year-old missed a staggering 416 days of action owing to his in-and-out nature in the treatment room at the Royals.
West Brom could now look to cash in on the injury-prone attacker as a result, with his value still sitting high according to Football Transfers, despite problems piling up for him this season.
Swift's transfer value in 2024
The ex-Reading man's valuation still stands at a substantial £2.4m, with the failed promotion hopefuls eager to rake in these millions if they can, considering Swift was snapped up on a free in 2022.
Swift's hefty price tag actually sees his valuation rated more highly than the aforementioned Kipre and Mowatt – with the potential free agents worth £1.7m and £1.5m respectively – despite both being everpresent members of the Baggies first-team that dared to dream about returning back up to the Premier League.
2024
£2.4m
2023
£3m
December 2022
£1.9m
July 2022
£0
Sourced by Football Transfers
Amazingly, Mikey Johnston – who was just two goals off Swift's tally for the season from 19 fewer games – is also worth a lesser £1.4m, with Corberan's men potentially eyeing up a permanent move for their excellent Celtic loan star off the back of Swift being shown the door and that influx of money coming in.
It would be a bittersweet ending for Swift who was seen as a coup to land on a free transfer when he signed from Reading two years ago, but after a 5/10 showing in the second leg at St. Mary's – as was rated by Birmingham World's Charlie Haffenden – where he failed to have a single shot on the Southampton net, it could be a severing of the ties that is now needed.
Corberan will need to pick his troops up from off the floor quickly whatever happens, as they strive to win promotion again next season and not become nearly-men once more.
