‘It was vital’: Dundee boss lifts lid on Portsmouth pursuit of £1.5m man after failed swoop
Pompey had several bids for Dundee defender Luke Graham rejected in the winter transfer window.
Steven Pressley has made it clear Dundee would not settle for anything under their valuation for Pompey target Luke Graham.
And the head coach adamant it was vital to keep the 21-year-old beyond the January window in a bid to save their season.
The Blues were active in the market, recruiting seven new players to help with their ongoing Championship survival battle.
Not all pursuits proved fruitful, however, with Graham remaining at Dens Park despite strong interest from the south coast.
The central defender, who is one of Scotland’s best emerging talents, was on the radar of the football operations at Fratton Park as they looked to bolster John Mousinho’s backline.
The Blues did have several bids rejected, with the fee initially starting at £1.5m, before Dundee’s valuation sky-rocked as the hours ticked down on deadline day.
Haugesund defender Madiodio Dia was instead signed in the final knockings of the window, to round off the winter business at Fratton Park.
Pressley remained clear throughout the window that he wanted to keep Graham beyond deadline day to aid their ongoing survival battle in the Scottish Premiership.
And the former Coventry City and Wolves boss is proud of his side for not budging in their valutation despite receiving ‘some really strong offers’.
Dundee boss explains Pompey pursuit of £1.5m man
The head coach told The Dundee Courier: ‘We’re delighted Luke is still here because the club received some really strong offers.
‘But the club were very strong on his valuation and there was no way that we were going to settle for anything under that valuation.
‘When we look at the market just now, I think they’re quite right, because I think we’ve got a really top young player on our hands, and we have to be getting the correct valuation for him.
‘It was a really important. January is a window that can make you, but it can also break you.
‘I remember at Coventry we’d been minus 10 points at the start of the season but we’d built momentum and were in contention for the playoffs in January.
‘Within one game, Rotherham away, I lost Callum Wilson to a shoulder injury and Leon Clarke, my other striker, that was his last game because we sold him to Wolverhampton. And then we could hardly win another game after that.
‘Players are important and my experience told me it was vital that we kept him.
‘I think he’s a top young player and it is credit to him how immensely well he has handled all the speculation.
‘In fact, you could argue he’s excelled during this uncertainty, which is amazing for him.’
Mousinho explained after the window that the Blues could reignite their interest in Graham in the summer after putting in the groundwork during the winter window.