What John Mousinho has done to keep Josh Murphy at Portsmouth
Portsmouth fans have been rocked by news that Leicester City are interested in signing Josh Murphy.
The Blues have enjoyed a productive transfer window this summer, but losing Murphy would significantly weaken their attack.
Portsmouth have rejected a £3million bid from Leicester for Murphy, but it’s believed they could come back with a higher offer.
After Saturday’s win at Preston, John Mousinho insisted it would take a £50m bid from Real Madrid to persuade the club to sell.
Portsmouth have Murphy contracted to 2027, and that’s not all the club has done to ensure he remains at Fratton Park.
John Mousinho reveals personal conversations he’s had with Josh Murphy
Murphy was Portsmouth’s player of the season and the Championship’s top assist-maker last year, so there was always likely to be interest in him this summer.
Mousinho has pre-empted that and had several conversations with his winger about why he should remain at Fratton Park.
Speaking to The News, he said: “My take, and I spoke to Josh about this in the summer, is he’s playing the best football of his career. He’s completely transformed the way he operates as a footballer.
“That’s nothing to do with me, but that is everything about what he’s done, how much this football club suits him and how much our playing style suits him.”
Murphy has also been handed the captain’s armband at the end of some games this season. While anything can happen in football, most clues point to him being happy at Portsmouth.
- Read more: Portsmouth in last-ditch crisis for Josh Murphy to stay as second Championship club enters race
Portsmouth pushing for final transfers to progress in Championship
Murphy is a talented player who likely holds ambitions of playing at a higher level.
If he’s searching for signs of progress at Portsmouth, he only needs to look back to the start of last season.
The 30-year-old has a higher calibre of teammates now. Pompey have enjoyed a faster start to the season in terms of picking up points. The team is defending better and looks far more capable of holding onto leads.
Makenzie Kirk should arrive at Portsmouth from St Johnstone this weekend. If Pompey’s recruitment team could seal a couple more deals in the final days of the transfer window, that would be a clear statement of ambition that goes a long way to keeping Murphy happy.
Pompey could do with:
- another winger or two
- a back-up striker
- maybe a top-class centre-midfielder.
Of course, if the board were to cave and let Murphy leave, that would send the opposite message. This lack of ambition could even be enough to persuade Mousinho to jump ship in the future. With that in mind, it could be a big couple of days in the history of Portsmouth Football Club.
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