Reading boss Veljko Paunovic has told Berkshire Live that the club will do everything they can to convince John Swift to remain with them in the long term. 

The attacking midfielder has enjoyed a fine start to the season at the Select Car Leasing Stadium and currently has eight goals and six assists to his name in just 14 league games for the Berkshire side.

However the former Chelsea player is set to see his contract expire in the summer of next year, which has led to the likes of his former club Brentford, Newcastle and Leeds United all being recently linked with a move for his services.

Now Paunovic has spoken out on the future of his star player, as he stated the following recently:

"Of course we will try to keep him, but this is football. 

"We all know what the business of football is, I can't give that promise to anyone, given our circumstances."

It is stated further in the report that the Royals are understood to have yet to have kicked off talks over a new deal for Swift, thus making his future even more uncertain.

The 26-year-old previously arrived at the club back in the summer of 2016 from Chelsea and has gone on to become a key player for his side in recent years.

The Verdict 

Swift's stock has never been so high, so for that reason, Reading really need to think carefully about what they want to do about his situation moving forwards.

They can either choose to let him run down his deal and leave for free come the summer, or they can explore the possibility of potentially cashing in on his services in January.

Both options have their pluses and negatives but overall all this talk of the Royals not even kicking off talks over a new deal is bound to worry the supporters.

It therefore seems almost inevitable that Swift will be leaving Reading one way or another, especially as he is in the prime years of his career.