Ex-Portsmouth and Ipswich striker searching for 15th club after Wembley glory delivers perfect farewell
Much-travelled striker spent 2022-23 season at Fratton Park under Danny Cowley and John Mousinho
Both his clubs reached separate play-off finals at Wembley last month - now the former Pompey striker finds himself a free agent.
Joe Pigott is seeking another challenge in his much-travelled career, despite winning promotion with AFC Wimbledon in May.
On loan from Leyton Orient, he scored four goals in 37 appearances for the Wombles in the 2024-25 season, although that included just eight league starts.
Wembley winner
When Johnnie Jackson’s side defeated Walsall 1-0 in the League Two play-off final, the towering forward was an unused substitute, before returning to Brisbane Road having accomplished his mission.
In the meantime, in his absence, parent club Orient reached a Wembley play-off final, facing Charlton in League One. Richie Wellens’ men would, ultimately, lose 1-0 to the Addicks, thereby missing the opportunity to join Pompey in the Championship next season.
Now Pigott has this week been released by Orient, along with Jayden Sweeney, Randell Williams, Sam Howes, Darren Pratley, Rhys Byrne, Reon Smith-Kouassi, Thomas Avgoustidis.
Four league goals in last two years
Since leaving Pompey in the summer of 2023, the 31-year-old has found goals hard to come by, netting just four times in the league. During that two-year period, he also started just 28 times in the league.
Now he’s searching for a 12th different career club - and 15th overall - albeit having most recently been a member of a promotion-winning AFC Wimbledon side.
It was Danny Cowley who recruited Pigott on a season-long loan in July 2022, representing Pompey’s fifth summer signing.
With his squad lacking a single senior striker, the head coach turned to the Ipswich man, having scored three times for them in League One the previous campaign.
By the end of the month, Colby Bishop and Dane Scarlett also arrived to bolster the Blues’ goal power, although only Bishop truly came off in a system favouring just one central striker.
Encouragingly, Pigott netted twice in his opening six Pompey outings, including a 3-0 Carabao Cup success at Cardiff and a penalty in the league against Bristol Rovers.
However, in terms of league outings, he was a regular substitute, with 26 of his 35 appearances coming from the bench as he registered four goals.
Scored in four different competitions for Portsmouth in one season
Primarily, Pigott’s starts came in cup competitions as the Blues shuffled their team, with three goals coming from nine outings.
Indeed, he has the distinction of scoring in four different competitions for Pompey in 2022-23, totalling seven goals from 44 appearances overall.
Following John Mousinho’s arrival as head coach in January 2023, Pigott would start just four of the final 20 fixtures of a campaign which saw the club finish eighth in League One.
Although the former Southend man’s availability wasn’t helped by a sending off after scoring at Accrington in March 2023, with the subsequent ban ruling him out for three matches.
His final goal was the winner in a 1-0 victory over Accrington at Fratton Park in April 2023 - inevitably having appeared as a substitute.
At the season’s end, Mousinho declared his interest in bringing Pigott back - but not as a first-team regular. Unsurprisingly, there would be no reunion.
Pigott subsequently left Ipswich for Orient on a two-year deal in July 2023, although, after four goals in 42 goals, he was loaned to AFC Wimbledon for the 2024-25 campaign.
Now the 31-year-old is looking for another club after bowing out of his second Wimbledon spell with a Wembley medal.