'I love him - and Portsmouth fans will love him too': His ex-Shrewsbury boss on why 'tough' Blues recruit is a sure-fire Fratton Park hit

That’s the message Steve Cotterill, the ex-Blues boss who managed the powerful striker at Shrewsbury last season.

Cotterill beat off around eight League One clubs to take the youngster on a season-long loan in 2022-23 and, under his tutelage, Saydee established himself as a popular figure, scoring seven goals in 38 appearances.

Now the 21-year-old has joined Pompey on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee during a busy start to the transfer window.

As Shrews boss, an impressed Cotterill admits he explored the possibility of a permanent deal for the centre-forward.

Now John Mousinho has swooped – and Cotterill is adamant Pompey fans will take him to their hearts.

He told The News: ‘I love him, he’s a fantastic boy.

‘Christian was in and out of Burton’s team the year before and hadn’t scored a goal in 18 matches, but, when I went through in depth looking at his games, I thought he was actually unlucky on quite a few occasions.

‘To me, with a bit of work in training, I could change that, which is what happened. There was a huge improvement in him – and there’s certainly room for more growth and development.

‘The Pompey fans will love him and I think he will do great. I honestly do.

‘Christian’s a very tough boy, he will be backing into defenders, people will definitely not want to play against him and Colby Bishop.

‘The minute he starts showing his aggression he will get the Fratton End absolutely standing on their feet, I think they’ll love him and I hope they do, he’s a great kid.

‘He’s great at holding the ball up, as strong as anything. Once he gets his backside into you, people aren’t taking the ball off him.

‘I wouldn’t say he’s so much a runner in behind. That was among the things we worked on last season, it’s an area of his game which he can improve on.

‘I also wouldn’t say he is good in the air, but you don’t need a striker who is good in the area when you’ve got Colby Bishop around.

‘Can you imagine those two working together in League One?’

Cotterill spent 16 months as Pompey manager, before departing for Nottingham Forest in October 2011.

He quit as Shrewsbury boss last month after two-and-a-half years in the job – and is watching Saydee’s progression with interest.

He added: ‘Signing him permanently for Shrewsbury was something I spoke about in the January window.

‘I mentioned to the CEO how Christian would be a good purchase for us, but we just didn’t have the finances.

‘He scored seven goals last season, but on occasions was very unlucky, and would definitely have got into double figures had he not suffered injury at the end.

‘He had a little knee issue, nothing serious, but he kept coming back, kept training, kept trying to play and kept aggravating it even worse, which definitely impaired him.

‘He’s a great kid, definitely a good foil for Colby, and there will be a resale value, for sure.’