Bold Portsmouth, Josh Murphy transfer claim made after Leicester & West Brom interest | OneFootball

The 31-year-old was the subject of late interest in the 2025 summer window.

Portsmouth FC are just two points clear of the Championship relegation zone, in 19th, albeit they do have a game in hand on all those around them.

The Hampshire-based outfit have got to this stage without having arguably their best player, Josh Murphy, since December.

It was confirmed by the club's head coach, John Mousinho, that Murphy won't kick a ball again this season after breaking his foot in said month against Derby County.

The 31-year-old winger had interest in his services last summer from both West Bromwich Albion and Leicester City on the back of a superb first year at Fratton Park, but he stayed put.

Now, with Murphy set to finish the campaign on just 14 appearances in all competitions, the question is whether that level of interest will return - or if Portsmouth would even consider cashing in.

Josh Murphy 'expected' to stay at Portsmouth FC amid previous interest from West Bromwich Albion and Leicester

FLW’s Pompey Fan Pundit, Miltos Ioannidis, is adamant that this summer’s transfer activity will look very different to last year when it comes to Murphy.

He believes the Championship interest the winger enjoyed in 2025 from the Baggies and the Foxes is unlikely to be repeated after a season so heavily disrupted by injury, saying, "I don’t expect to see quite the same interest for Murphy this summer, and I think it’s something natural."

This reported interest was revealed by journalist Darren Witcoop just before deadline day, on August 30th, last year. On X, Witcoop mentioned that Leicester had their offer knocked back and West brom were 'on the hunt' for him as well.

Ioannidis continued his transfer stance on Murphy by telling FLW, "Unfortunately, his season has been hindered by injuries, he will have only managed to pick up 14 appearances for us this campaign, which is nothing compared to the impact he had last year."

Murphy did have a standout 2024/25 campaign, hitting seven goals and 14 assists in the Championship. This meant he even finished joint-top of the division’s assist charts alongside West Brom’s Tom Fellows, form which understandably put him on the radar of promotion-chasing sides.

"There is not a single scenario in my mind why we should decide to sell Josh Murphy, and on the other hand I don’t think Josh Murphy will want to leave as well," the Fan Pundit added.

West Brom and Leicester failed to sign 'untouchable' Josh Murphy from Portsmouth FC

There is a strong argument that West Brom and Leicester have inadvertently dodged a bullet by not forcing a deal through last year for Murphy - primarily because of his injury.

Yes, breaking his foot has prevented Murphy from reaching last year’s goal contribution tally, but he did have six assists for 25/26 before it happened. So, there was still every chance he could've achieved similar numbers, and is perhaps why Ioannidis labels the winger 'untouchable' when he's fit.

"In my opinion, he’s an untouchable player when he’s fit and available," Ioannidis claimed, before touching on the form of January arrival Millenic Alli, who is trying to fill Murphy's void.

"Millenic Alli started very, very well in his first few games with us, but slowly but surely you can see that initial spark fading out. That’s partly due to the fact he’s played too many games in such a short amount of time and he could really do with having some competition which we don’t have."

In truth, back in October, when questioned about West Brom and Leicester, Murphy admitted to The News that “a couple of bids had come in” and that he briefly questioned whether he would remain a Pompey player.

Yet the ex-Oxford United favourite then stressed that it was a "no-brainer" to eventually sign a new contract at Fratton Park.

Ioannidis concluded his transfer claim by saying, "Josh Murphy, I look forward to seeing him back in Pompey colours next season and having the same amount of impact that he had for us last season, that would be very, very good."