Will Swan (footballer)

William Jonathan Swan (born 26 October 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Mansfield 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.

Nottingham Forest
Swan joined the Nottingham Forest academy at the age of 13. 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. Manager Paul Wotton said that "he comes from Nottingham Forest with high regard and its a real coup for us". 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.

After scoring eight goals for Forest's U23 side at the start of the season, Swan began training with Forest's first-team. 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. The following month Swan signed a new contract to keep him at the club until 2024. However, his first-team opportunities were limited by the signing of Glenn Murray and return to fitness of Lewis Grabban.

On 1 February 2020, Swan moved on loan to EFL League Two side Port Vale until the end of the 2020–21 season. He scored his first goal in the English Football League on 6 March, during a 3–2 defeat at Cheltenham Town. He played ten matches during his time at Vale Park. He did not play any competitive football during the 2021–22 campaign, though did train with the Forest first-team in March 2022. 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.

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". 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". 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.

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. 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. On 13 February, he scored a brace and provided an assist in a 9–2 win over Harrogate Town. Clough said that Swan was like a new signing as the player went on to win that month's Player of the Month award. Swan scored ten goals in 42 games in the 2023–24 season as Mansfield secured the third automatic promotion place.

Style of play
Swan is a forward with good movement, first touch, awareness and finishing skills.

Honours
Mansfield Town
 * EFL League Two third-place promotion: 2023–24