Portsmouth boss reveals why £200,000 striker has become Blues' third signing of January transfer window

The 19-year-old Australian has moved to Fratton Park on a three-and-a-half-year deal after the Blues agreed a fee with A-League side Brisbane Roar. The exact figure remains undisclosed but it’s understood Pompey have forked out £200,000 for the young striker, who was also attracting interest from Championship rivals QPR and Sheffield Wednesday.

Waddingham heads to PO4 after bagging four goals in 11 league appearances for Brisbane this season. That took his overall tally of Roar goals to 15 in 40 outings in all competitions, following his debut against Sydney FC in October 2023.

That record made him one of the hottest young prospects in Australian football. Indeed, Waddingham leaves the A League as their second-highest scoring teenager of all time behind Nestory Irankunda. And coupled with his physical presence and work ethic, Mousinho said Pompey have landed a player he’s excited to work with.

The Blues head coach, who landed Rob Atkinson and Isaac Hayden earlier in the transfer window, told the club website: ‘He’s a really exciting young player, who is coming over here with bags of potential.

‘Thomas has already made a real impact playing in the A-League this season and will be ready to come here and try to do the same for us in the Championship.

‘He works incredibly hard off the ball and scores goals, while is also a big physical presence, so we’re very much looking forward to working with him.’

Queenslander Waddingham is a product of Brisbane Roar’s youth system and was proudly crowned their young player of the year last season. Understandably, the teenager has a deep affinity with the club. He said the decision to leave was a tough one.

‘When I was younger, the only dream I had was to play for this club, so it’s tough to leave, but to go even further than that is pretty surreal,’ Waddingham told Brisbane’s website.

‘It went pretty quickly to be honest, going from NPL when I got here in the 18s, then A-League straight away, starting pretty quickly.

‘I loved every bit of it and I learned so much from the coaches that I’ve had and all the players that I’ve worked with, it’s a good place to be.

‘To the fans, it’s meant a lot to me because I was one of them back in the day and to help the club out both on the field and now off the field is something that I treasure.’