SWIFT by name and swift by nature.

Chelsea starlet John Swift has soared from the Southampton Tyro League to the Premier League in five whirlwind years.

And when the 18-year-old midfielder made his Blues debut against Cardiff City on the last day of the season, he shone as a beacon of hope for the legions of young footballers who have had their dreams shattered by knockbacks from professional clubs.

The expression ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again’ might have been expressly written for the Portsmouth-born player who lived in Gosport until the age of 16.

As a ten-year-old he was signed on by Pompey, only to be released after his first season.

Chelsea then picked him up as an under-13, but even though a six-week trial unusually turned into a six-month stay, his first spell with the London giants ended in the pain of rejection.

But all that was a distant memory at the Cardiff City Stadium on Sunday, May 11, as Swift completed his remarkable rise from Pace Youth to Premier League player with a six-minute cameo appearance for the Jose Mourinho’s multi-million-pound side.

With the three points seemingly safe after Andre Schurrle and Fernando Torres had brought the Blues back from behind, Swift was out warming up on the sidelines when the wheels were set in motion to replace brilliant Belgian Eden Hazard.

“I was stood there stretching when Jose called me over and said I was going on,” Swift recalled.

“He spoke to me about tactics first and made sure I knew I had a job to do.

“He said I was going right midfield and to make sure I stayed with the leftback because he was really quick and not to let him past me.

“Then he said ‘go and enjoy it, it’s your first time, have fun’.”

What followed were some of the most nerve-racking moments of Swift’s fledgling career as he patiently waited for his big chance – and feared it would never come!

“I was all ready to go on, but then I stood there for five minutes waiting for the ball to go out of play,” he said.

“I was just hoping it would go out before the game ended or else it would have been me just standing there for no reason.”

Swift finally got on for six minutes – a fitting end to a superb season for a player who is arguably the brightest in the galaxy of young English stars rising through the Chelsea ranks.

Acclaimed by many as the Blues’ new Frank Lampard, he is a 6ft 2in box-to-box midfielder whose tireless running and keen eye for goal was influential in Chelsea sweeping all before them in the Barclays Under-21 Premier League last term.

Having finished top of the regular season standings, Dermot Drummy’s side came back from behind to win the final 2-1 against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Swift has looked equally at home on the European stage, scoring six goals in seven matches as Chelsea emerged with a 100 per cent record in the UEFA Youth League group phase, only to lose to Schalke in the quarter-finals.

He has also been a regular fixture for England’s under-19s who heartbreakingly missed out on qualification for the European Championships when beaten 1-0 by Ukraine last week – a late own goal, wickedly deflected off Saints’ Calum Chambers doing the damage.

That, though, was a rare blot on the copybook of the Leatherhead-based teenager who, for all his rave reviews, remains refreshingly grounded.

Modestly recalling the moment he took to the pitch at Cardiff and shook hands with World Cup-bound Hazard, he said: “It was a bigger moment for my friends than me I think. They were all excited about me going on for Hazard, but I didn’t even think about it. I just concentrated on what I had to do.”

Swift’s down-to-earth attitude stems partly from his mum, Pauline.

Unlike dad John – a Celtic supporter – she has no real interest in football but has been instrumental in helping him achieve his dream.

“The football part of me all comes from my dad’s side,” said Swift. “My mum only comes to games to watch me. When I go off, she probably just sits back and takes no notice.

“She doesn’t know who anyone is.

She’s stood alongside Roman Abramovich and John Terry before and not recognised them and was stood talking to Frank Lampard with no idea who he was!”

Swift’s Southampton-based agent Barry Wilson admires the young man for staying true to his roots.

“John’s remained very grounded thanks to his mum and his whole family who keep him real,” he said.

“He’s also got a good network of friends outside pro football and, if he ever did get above himself, they would bring him back down very quickly.

“When John gave out some medals at the Pace Youth presentations recently, one young lad was completely star-struck by him and that’s all new to John.

“In a five-year period, he’s gone from the Tyro League to the Premier League. When he went on at Cardiff it was quite a surreal moment for his mum and me but, for John, it’s just his job.”

It was while attending Soccer City Fareham that Swift’s fairytale rise began. His dad was given a card for Kickers indoor centre in Eastleigh which is where he met Wilson and his striker son Sam, now of Winchester City.

He went to Portsmouth from Kickers and on to Chandler’s Ford Tornadoes where he played alongside young Wilson as an under-11.

Having initially been shown the door by Chelsea, he returned to the Tyro League with Totton-based Pace Youth and it was there he got the opportunity to test himself against the cream of the crop.

“Steve Green opened up a world of opportunity for the Pace kids by getting games against a lot of top academy sides – particularly Chelsea, Saints, Arsenal and Fulham,” said Wilson.

“It brought the Pace lads on enormously playing against the better teams and quite a few of them went into the academy system.

“It was at the end of the under-13 season that John played against Chelsea in a friendly and that’s when they decided they wanted him.”

By that time Fulham, Saints and Pompey were also showing interest, but Swift’s previous stint with the Blues proved decisive for the Brune Park schoolboy who hasn’t looked back since signing a four-year deal two years ago.

“I would love to think young players will be inspired by John’s story,”

said Wilson.

“I’ve seen so many youngsters destroyed by the rejection that happens in football.

“We get all the directives from the FA, but none, in my opinion, that impact on grassroots football in the correct way.

“The after-care is shocking.

“They don’t seem to have a handle on helping kids coming out of clubs to find a level to play at.

“John’s talent has always been there and once he went to Chelsea it seemed to push him forward to an incredible level.

“He’s a great example that if clubs do reject young players, it needn’t be the end of their footballing lives.

“With a bit of willpower and determination they can get past it.

“John’s had a taste of it now with Chelsea and he wants more.”