Nok en ung australiener til Pompey

Det var nok flere som stusset da lagoppstillingen til Pompey kom på tirsdag. Hayden Matthews?


NYHETER: Den 20 år gamle midtstopperen Hayden Matthews signerte for Pompey på mandag. Den unge australieren kom fra Sydney FC for et ikke offentliggjort beløp. Det spekuleres i rundt 1,2 millioner pund.

Matthews har en rekke ungdomslandskamper for Australia, samt 1 A-landskamp. Overgangen hans fra Sydney FC til Pompey er en av de største overgangene fra australsk fotball noen gang og Matthews beskrives som et stort stoppertalent.

Han har skrevet under på en kontrakt ut 2028/29-sesongen. Da overgangen ble offentliggjort mandag, ble det samtidig opplyst om at Pompey ventet på en såkalt «international clearance» før overgangen var i boks. Den kom tydeligvis like etterpå, for allerede tirsdag kveld fikk Matthews sin Pompey-debut.

20-åringen startet kampen som midtstopper sammen med Marlon Pack. Atkinson var ute med sykdom og Shaughnessy var ikke regnet som klar til å starte kamper ennå etter å ha vært lenge ute med skade.

Matthews klarte seg ok, men han var på etterskudd da Millwall scoret kampens eneste mål på en kontring i 1. omgang.

Matthews blir med dette Pompeys fjerde spiller fra Australia.

SE OGSÅ: Spillerprofilen til Hayden Matthews

 

Hovedtrener John Mousinhos kommentarer til overgangen

«He’s a really promising young centre-back and a player that we’ve been tracking for quite some time. There wasn’t the opportunity to bring him over here in the summer, so we’re delighted that he’s been able to join us now.

Hayden is someone with a huge amount of potential, but he’s already played a lot of first team games in a short amount of time. He’s six-foot-five, but is also very mobile and doesn’t just rely on his height. There’s a real physicality there, while he’s calm and composed with the ball at his feet.”

 

Hayden Matthews sine kommentarer til overgangen

«It feels amazing and I’m really excited to be here – this is something I’ve been looking forward to for a while now. It’s been pretty crazy since I found out the deal had got over the line. I had to pack up my life and get on a 24-hour flight. There was interest in the summer and we did our research and thought this club was a good fit, but unfortunately it didn’t work out.

So when they came back in for me this month, it was a bit of a no-brainer, even if it was tough to say goodbye to everyone at Sydney. I’ve seen Fratton Park sold out every week and it’s unbelievable. Everyone tells me the fans here are next level. John [Mousinho] and Zesh [Rehman] were both centre-halves and so I thought this would be the right place for me to develop.

I know the step up is going to be tough and we’ll have to work hard for every point, but I’m really looking forward to the challenge. This is a big change for me and when I wake up in the morning, everyone back home is about to go to sleep, so it will take some getting used to. But I’m looking forward to being settled in my own place and getting to know all the boys a bit better.

I’ve heard great things about the group and there are a few Aussies here already to help make the transition easier.”