Sesongens første salg

Christian Saydee selges til League One-klubben Wigan.

NYHETER: Wigan satser tydeligvis på å vende tilbake til Championship. Klubben har nå i løpet av kort tid signert både Saydee fra Pompey og velkjente Paul Mullins fra Wrexham. Sistnevnte på sesonglangt lån.

Saydee forlater Pompey etter to sesonger på Fratton Park. Han ble kjøpt for 90.000 pund fra Bournemouth sommeren 2023. Han har spilt hele 73 kamper på disse to årene, men de fleste kampene har vært som innbytter. Han scoret sju mål og har rukket å bli veldig populær både blant medspillere og supportere.

Nå går ferden ned ett hakk, noe som kan være fornuftig ettersom han neppe ville fått mer spilletid i Pompey kommende sesong. Nå får han forhåpentligvis flere kamper fra start.

Overgangssummen til Wigan er ikke offentliggjort, men det spekuleres i en sum på rundt 400.000 pund.

SE OGSÅ: Christian Saydees spillerprofil

 

Hovedtrener John Mousinhos kommentarer

«Christian was a popular member of our squad and I know he’ll be missed by staff, players and supporters alike. He’s made some important contributions during the past two seasons and was someone we loved having at Fratton Park.

But he hopefully now has the chance to get some more regular minutes and we didn’t want to stand in the way of that. We thank him for everything he did in a Pompey shirt and wish him nothing but the best for the next stage of his career.»

 

Christian Saydees kommentarer

«The gaffer was a big part of me leaving, we went over it in my end-of-season meeting. I went to him more of a friend for advice rather than a manager – and he advised me. I was 22 at the time and also, considering my time at the club, at that point I needed to play more games.

We talked and he made me realise. That was a big moment for me. He was pleased I could possibly go out and get minutes somewhere else, but, at the same time, said he still wanted me around. However, he was never going to stand in my way if I wanted to get more matches elsewhere. That was a big thing. Most managers would go and screw you over, but he was open enough to allow me to go out and experience something else.

He wanted to keep me, if I was still around it would be nice, but he wasn’t going to stand in my way – and I thank him for that. I don’t think any player is happy sitting around and being on the bench. Sometimes you don’t realise how much you want to be on the pitch, it’s kind of a blur when things are going so well for the team, we’re all happy.

But, when you come away from that and realise a football career is very short, you want to get your game time and do as well as you can do. It’s one of those things that have to happen in football if it’s not working out how you want it to – and the club have been so nice and open to letting me go out and get minutes. I enjoyed every single minute of it. I was a professional footballer for the first time at Pompey, I came as a boy and have left as a man.

When I was released by Reading, it didn’t cross my mind that one day I would score in the Championship. It’s something you would love to do, always, but for it to actually happen is another feeling. Hopefully the fans saw how passionate I am, I like to think I show it a lot in games. I feel we had a really good connection, but this is something I needed to do.

It was emotional leaving, so difficult. I sat on the players’ chat for 30 minutes deciding whether to send them the message I had written, I couldn’t believe it was real. I sent it after an hour in the end! It was difficult for me to put some words together and say goodbye to them. Portsmouth was a big change in my life, I got so much experience, we won League One and then played in the Championship. I saw myself as a kind of little brother to Colby, he always tried to guide me through things. Josh (Murphy), Skip (Pack), Matt (Ritchie), Shocks, everyone was my big brother, I could always talk to them.

Everyone will always remain in my heart.»