‘It’s great to feel wanted - I feel happy here’: Luton Town loanee's Portsmouth love with future to be decided
His Luton Town loan will come to close next week in terms of playing time, with Millenic Alli showing his appreciation to his temporary employers with his future still to be decided.
Millenic Alli has expressed his contentment with life at Pompey after finding the football missing from his career.
And the Republic of Ireland has thanked both John Mousinho for providing him with the regular action he sought over the second half of the campaign.
Alli on Pompey: ‘Great to feel wanted, great response from fans and feel happy here ‘
But Alli acknowledged his future is still unclear, as he waits to see what lies ahead for him with his Fratton loan nearing completion.
The 26-year-old has now made 20 appearances following his January window capture, with his form flying as he hit the ground running at PO4.
The Luton Town man who moved to Kenilworth Road from Exeter City in January of last year for £1.5m, but found playing time increasingly hard to come by under Jack Wilshere before completely dropping out of his squad at the end of last year.
The picture changed for Alli at Pompey, starting every game under Mousinho from his first outing at Sheffield Wednesday until the draw at Norwich City earlier this month - a run spanning 15 games.
Two sub appearances ensued against Oxford United and Middlesbrough, before the former non-league operator returned to the starting XI with a storming man-of-the-match performance against Ipswich Town.
That’s the kind of playing return Alli was looking for when arriving at Fratton Park, with there appreciation from the player at the welcome afforded from the fanbase of his temporary employers.
Alli said: ‘I’m having a blast here. It’s good to play, that’s why I came here and I’ve been fortunate to get my chance.
‘I can’t complain. It’s great to feel wanted and I’ve had a great response from the fans and I feel very happy here around the boys. It’s the same with the gaffer, too. It’s been great so far and the aim was to finish the job and finish strong. Now we just have to see what the future holds.’
Pompey boss has previously expressed desire to sign Luton Town loanee
If Alli’s future remains unclear in his eyes, Mousinho has previously stated a permanent deal for the player was something he is clear to explore.
The last update from the Pompey boss arrived in February amid the player’s searing start at PO4.
Mousinho said then: ‘That (signing Alli permanently) is obviously out of our hands, because he’s going to be a Luton player again in the summer.
‘From my perspective, if I can speak to Milli in the summer and persuade him to maybe extend his stay here I think everyone could see that as being beneficial.
‘Mill has been very, very good for us.
‘I do think there’s a lot of improvement we can get in his game though, with the Wrexham game a really good example of that. Some concentration down that left-hand side and a little bit of final product, that’s whether it’s crosses or cutting in on to his right foot and finishes.
‘Goals and assists are the next step for him.
‘So I think there’s still plenty of polishing we still need to do with that player, but I think he’s come in and made a really big impact. You can see with the team selection and the fact that he’s been playing 90 minutes in pretty much every game.’