Midfielder who turned down new 3-year deal at Pompey in 2023 makes deadline day loan move to League Two club

Controversial former Pompey midfielder Jay Mingi found himself on the move on transfer deadline day.

While the Blues were bolstering their ranks with four new players for their latest Championship season, the midfielder-cum-defender was leaving League One Stockport Couty to drop down to League Two.

Indeed, a loan switch to Crewe Alexander was agreed on the final day of the transfer window - a move that ends a frustrating 12 months at Edgeley Park for the one-time Fratton Park player.

Mingi, who moved to the Hatters from Danny Cowley’s Colchester last summer, featured just 11 times for Dave Challinor’s side in the league last term because of injury and unavailability issues. At one point he was accused of not being ‘fit enough or robust enough’ during his maiden season with the club.

Speaking to Crewe’s in-house media, the 24-year-old said he was looking forward to a fresh start.

He said: ‘I’m delighted that we’ve manged to get it (his loan move) over the line. I’m just looking forward to enjoying my football again and playing and supporting this club.

‘I’ve a feeling of optimism (with the) faith shown in me and now I just want to do my best to repay that faith.’

What happened between Jay Mingi and Pompey

Lee Bell’s Crewe represent Mingi’s third club after he turned down a new three-year deal with Pompey in the summer of 2023 in favour of pursuing his career elsewhere.

That parting of ways with the Blues came about after the player’s agent previously told The News that the Blues had turned down three bids from three League One clubs, including Charlton, for the midfielder in January 2023.

He had also been linked with Birmingham, West Brom and Blackburn - but ended up at League Two Colchester.

Mingi made 29 appearances and scored once during two seasons at Fratton Park, having been snapped up by Cowley in September 2021 following a successful trial.

Yet there were always persistent injury problems during his time on the south coast for a player who clearly possessed talent.

While with Colchester, he was converted into a right-sided centre-back or right-back and impressed watching scouts, including Stockport, where he moved in May 2024.

‘He’s not fit enough or robust enough to play for Stockport’

However, in an interview with the Manchester Evening News in February, boss Challinor said: ‘Jay has an ongoing fitness issue which we're working on with him. He was close to leaving on loan in January which didn't happen.

‘At the moment, he's not fit enough or robust enough to play in a Stockport County team.

‘We'll manage the issue he does have, but we need to get him robust enough to play regularly at the level we know he can.

‘We're effectively starting his pre-season next week, with the potential for him to be involved at the end of the season.

‘He has more tests next week and we'll see how he gets through those, with hopefully no reaction to those tests.

‘But at the moment, it's about him working hard, and us making him robust enough - in order for him to provide what we need from him.’

Mingi featured just four more times for Stockport since that Challinor interview - including a start in the Hatters’ Carabao Cup defeat against Wigan last week. Yet his last league appearance came back in April, when Stockport beat Huddersfield.

The player could make his Crewe debut tonight when the Railwaymen take on Paul Cook’s Chesterfield in the EFL Trophy.

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