Will Swan (footballer)

Will Swan

Personal information
Full name	William Jonathan Swan [1]
Date of birth	(2000-10-26) 26 October 2000 (age 24) [2]
Place of birth	Mansfield, England [3]
Height	5 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1.74 m) [4]
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Crawley Town
Number	9
Youth career
2014–2020	Nottingham Forest
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2020–2023	Nottingham Forest	2	(0)
2020	→ Truro City (loan)	9	(9)
2021	→ Port Vale (loan)	10	(1)
2022–2023	→ Mansfield Town (loan)	28	(10)
2023–2024	Mansfield Town	36	(9)
2024–	Crawley Town	16	(4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:18, 16 December 2024 (UTC)

William Jonathan Swan (born 26 October 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL League One club Crawley Town.

Swan began his career at Nottingham Forest, from where he was loaned out to Truro City, Port Vale and Mansfield Town. He was sold to Mansfield Town in July 2023 and was promoted out of League Two with the club at the end of the 2023–24 season. He signed with Crawley Town in August 2024.

Career

Nottingham Forest

Swan joined the Nottingham Forest academy at the age of 13. ^[5] On 4 January 2020, Swan joined Southern League Premier Division South side Truro City on a one-month loan and scored two goals on his debut at Treyew Road in a 4–0 win over Metropolitan Police later that day. ^[6] Manager Paul Wotton said that "he comes from Nottingham Forest with high regard and its a real coup for us". ^[7] The loan was extended into a second month and Swan went on to score nine goals in as many games for Truro, before returning to Nottingham on 1 March 2020. ^{[8] [9] [10]}

After scoring eight goals for Forest's U23 side at the start of the season, Swan began training with Forest's first-team. ^[11] Manager Chris Hughton gave him his debut in professional football on 29 November 2020, putting him on as a 76th-minute substitute during a 1–0 loss to Swansea City at the City Ground. ^[12] The following month Swan signed a new contract to keep him at the club until 2024. ^[5] However, his first-team opportunities were limited by the signing of Glenn Murray and return to fitness of Lewis Grabban. ^[13]

On 1 February 2020, Swan moved on loan to EFL League Two side Port Vale until the end of the 2020–21 season. ^[14] He scored his first goal in the English Football League on 6 March, during a 3–2 defeat at Cheltenham Town. ^[15] He played ten matches during his time at Vale Park. ^[16] He did not play any competitive football during the 2021–22 campaign, though did train with the Forest first-team in March 2022. ^{[17] [18]} He finished as top-scorer for the under-23 team, scoring 12 goals in 22 appearances as Andy Reid's side reached the semi-finals of the Premier League 2 Division 2 play-offs. ^[19]

Mansfield Town

On 9 July 2022, Swan joined League Two side Mansfield Town – his hometown club – on loan for the 2022–23 season; manager Nigel Clough stated that "he'll bring youth and energy to the team". ^[3] In March it was reported that he missed the rest of the season with an ankle injury and was described by Clough as a "big, big miss". ^{[20] [21]} He did, however, recover earlier than expected from his injury and ended the campaign with ten goals from 34 games, finishing as Mansfield's top-scorer. ^[22]

On 17 May 2023, Mansfield Town agreed to an undisclosed transfer fee with Nottingham Forest to sign Swan permanently on 1 July; he signed a three-year contract. ^{[23] [24]} He endured a difficult start to his time as a permanent signing as he struggled with injuries and took until 28 November to score for the first time in the league. ^[25] On 13 February, he scored a brace and provided an assist in a 9–2 win over Harrogate Town. ^[26] Clough said that Swan was like a new signing as the player went on to win that month's Player of the Month award. ^{[27] [28]} Swan scored ten goals in 42 games in the 2023–24 season as Mansfield secured the third automatic promotion place. ^{[29] [30]}

Crawley Town

On 30 August 2024, Swan signed for fellow League One club Crawley Town on a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee. ^[31]

Style of play

Swan is a forward with good movement, first touch, awareness and finishing skills. ^[13]

Career statistics

As of match played 14 December 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Nottingham Forest	2019–20 [32]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2020–21 [16]	Championship	2	0	0	0	0	0	—		2	0
	2021–22 [17]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2022–23 [22]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Truro City (loan)	2019–20 [9]	Southern League Premier Division South	9	9	0	0	—		0	0	9	9
Port Vale (loan)	2020–21 [16]	League Two	10	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	1
Mansfield Town (loan)	2022–23 [22]	League Two	28	10	1	0	1	0	4 [a]	0	34	10
Mansfield Town	2023–24 [29]	League Two	35	9	1	0	3	1	3	0	42	10
	2024–25 [33]	League One	1	0	—		1	0	0	0	2	0
	Total		64	19	2	0	5	1	7	0	78	20
Crawley Town	2024–25 [33]	League One	16	4	1	0	0	0	2 [a]	0	19	4
Career total			101	33	3	0	5	1	9	0	118	34

1. Appearance in the EFL Trophy

Honours

Mansfield Town

• EFL League Two third-place promotion: 2023–24 ^[30]

References

1. "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2019" (PDF). English Football League. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
2. Will Swan at Soccerway
3. "Stags sign Forest forward". Mansfield Town F.C. 9 July 2022. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
4. "Will Swan - Latest breaking news, rumours and gossip from Mansfield Town". Sports Mole. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
5. Lee, Matt. "Nottingham Forest youngster Will Swan pens new deal at City Ground | CBJTarget". cbjtarget.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
6. Friday, Matt (5 January 2020). "White Tigers begin 2020 with four-goal win at home to Met Police". Falmouth Packet. Archived from the original on 3 April 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
7. Davies, Matt (4 January 2020). "Forest striker loaned out - and makes incredible start hours later". NottinghamshireLive. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
8. Wakefield, Mark (5 February 2020). "Forest make fresh transfer agreement for academy striker". NottinghamshireLive. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
9. "William Swan". www.trurocityfc.net. Archived from the original on 11 December 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
10. Weldon, Cameron (1 March 2020). "Swan returns to Forest". www.trurocityfc.net. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
11. Davies, Matt (24 November 2020). "Will Swan rewarded for goals with Nottingham Forest chance". NottinghamshireLive. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
12. "Forest 0-1 Swansea". www.nottinghamforest.co.uk. 29 November 2020. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
13. Baggaley, Michael (1 February 2021). "Who is Will Swan? All about Port Vale's signing from Nottingham Forest". StokeonTrentLive. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
14. "Port Vale complete loan signing of Will Swan". Port Vale F.C. 1 February 2021. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
15. "Cheltenham Town 3-2 Port Vale". BBC Sport. 6 March 2021. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
16. "Games played by Will Swan in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
17. "Games played by Will Swan in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
18. "Spotted: Nottingham Forest gem Will Swan trains with senior ranks". Nottingham Forest News. 9 March 2022. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
19. "Swan joins Mansfield on loan". Nottingham Forest Football Club. 9 July 2022. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
20. "Nottingham Forest striker Will Swan will miss remainder of 2022/23". Nottingham Forest News. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
21. Lomas, John (5 April 2023). "Injured Mansfield Town top scorer Will Swan could be back for final push for promotion". Mansfield and Ashfield Chad. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
22. "Games played by Will Swan in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
23. "Mansfield sign Nottingham Forest forward Swan". BBC Sport. 17 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
24. Thirkill, Stephen (18 May 2023). "Mansfield Town sign Will Swan on permanent deal from Nottingham Forest". Mansfield and Ashfield Chad. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
25. Lomas, John (28 November 2023). "First Mansfield Town league goal of the season a confidence-booster for sub Will Swan". Chad. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
26. "Five of the top midweek performers in Sky Bet League Two". EFL. 14 February 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
27. Lomas, John (7 February 2024). "Boss believes revitalised Mansfield Town striker Will Swan is like a new signing". Chad. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
28. "Swan secures February's Player of the Month". Mansfield Town F.C. 1 March 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
29. "Games played by Will Swan in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
30. "Boss: Character was central to promotion". Mansfield Town F.C. 27 April 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
31. Dunford, Mark (30 August 2024). "Former Nottingham Forest and Mansfield Town striker reveals what attracted him to sign for Crawley Town". Sussex Express. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
32. "Games played by Will Swan in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
33. "Games played by Will Swan in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 July 2019.