'I was asking myself will I still be at Portsmouth?': Josh Murphy on truth behind Leicester and West Brom transfer links
The influential winger had attracted late transfer window interest from the Championship
Josh Murphy has revealed the uncertainty behind his Fratton future after a ‘couple of bids’ were received by Pompey in the final days of the transfer window.
But the popular winger is adamant it was a ‘no-brainer’ to sign a fresh deal extending his Blues stay until the summer of 2028.
The 30-year-old made his eagerly-awaited return from injury in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Stoke, coming off the bench for the final 23 minutes.
Having been sidelined for six games with an ankle injury, it represented Murphy’s first outing since signing a new three-year Pompey contract earlier this month.
And afterwards, he gave his first interview since deadline day links with Leicester City and West Brom - and finally lifted the lid on what actually happened.
Murphy: It was a relatively easy decision
Murphy told The News: ‘A couple of bids had come in, I was asking myself am I going to be a Pompey player? Am I not? That’s all I can really say.
‘That’s what happens sometimes in football, you just never know what’s going to happen. That was nearly two months ago, it feels like a distant memory now.
‘It wasn’t unsettling, I have always been happy here. It’s nice to have interest from other clubs, obviously you must be doing something right. Everything is all sorted now, I’m a Pompey player and I just want to create something special.
‘It was a relatively easy decision to stay at Pompey. Everything is aligned since I’ve been here, so it was a no-brainer to sign a new deal.
‘All I can keep doing is playing well. I just want to propel the team and the club up the league. That’s one thing I have said since I’ve been here, I always want to aim high.
‘We can do special things here, sometimes it might not seem it, but I am a big believer that this is a special club and a special group.’
Regardless, the hugely influential winger remained on the south coast, much to the Fratton faithful’s delight - then signed a fresh deal four weeks later.
Murphy is adamant talks over new Blues terms had been ongoing since earlier in the summer, yet concedes it was ‘probably sped up’ by those approaches from fellow Championship clubs.
‘I love playing here’
He added: ‘Maybe a bit of my new contract was to do with the interest from other clubs, although talks had been going on for a long time, since the off-season, so it was just one of those things.
‘It probably sped up a bit at the back end of the transfer window, but I’m delighted to get it signed because I love playing here, so I am just looking forward to the future.
‘I was happy to sign it, we’re trying to build something here. Over the last couple of weeks, results have been good, sometimes they have been bad, but the print of the club and where everyone wants to go is the same.
‘I want to get to the Premier League if I can - and the club definitely wants to do so. It’s a perfect fit and hopefully the results pick up.’
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