New Portsmouth signing reveals reasons behind £1.2m transfer as he prepares for potential debut v Millwall
Hayden Matthews has confessed a move to Pompey was too good an opportunity to turn down.
The Blues’ new £1.2m signing from A-League side Sydney FC admitted it has been a life-long dream of his to take his talent overseas, after progressing through the youth system at the Sky Blues.
And the 20-year-old believes he’s found the ‘ideal’ club to help fulfil his ambitions, with Pompey ticking so many boxes for him.
Attracted by the Blues’ history, the direction it’s going after last season’s League One title success and the coaching set-up headed by John Mousinho, Matthews’ whirlwind move to Fratton Park could be accompanied by a debut appearance against Millwall in the Championship tonight.
Mousinho has no qualms about throwing the 20-year-old Australia international straight into the deep end - just 36 hours after his arrival was confirmed. And that’s something that is unlikely to faze Matthews, either, as this is something he’s been looking forward to his entire life.
When asked why Pompey and why move to England now after just 30 seniors appearances for Sydney, the young centre-back said: ‘Well, long story short, it's too good of an opportunity to say no to. It's one of those things where it's something I've dreamt of my entire life.
‘It's an ideal destination. It's a great club with a great history and it's a club and a coach that has a really good idea of where they want to go - and the club seems like it's moving in the right direction.
‘So it's one of those opportunities which you can't really say no to and I feel like it's something I'd regret not doing, especially when it's been a lifelong dream of mine.
‘It’s a little bit unfortunate that I have to leave the boys (at Sydney) halfway through the season because I feel like I'm starting to get in some real momentum and put some things together. (It was an) unfortunate result on the weekend (against Brisbane Roar), but yeah, I think the team has the quality to go on and win everything. So a shame that I might be missing out on that, but it's an opportunity that I couldn't turn down.’
Pompey’s Aussie contingent made decision even easier
Matthews becomes the fourth Aussie on the Pompey payroll, after making the same journey to PO4 as Kusini Yengi, Jacob Farrell and fellow January arrival Thomas Waddingham.
He said their presence at Fratton Park made the decision even easier to make.
Matthews added: ‘I think that helps, obviously because it makes the transition easier and the club has dealt with the situation before, players moving across from Australia, which isn't something that would happen every day in England and it's something that definitely doesn't happen very often.
‘But, yeah, it definitely influenced me a little bit. I spoke to some of the boys about what it's like there, the team culture and how the coaching staff all were and I heard nothing but praise about it. So yeah, it made my decision quite easy.’