Alex Robertson breaks silence on summer transfer saga involving Cardiff City & Portsmouth | OneFootball

Alex Robertson was courted by Portsmouth before joining Cardiff City in the summer

Alex Robertson has opened up on the transfer interest he received from Portsmouth before eventually joining Cardiff City on a permanent deal this summer.

The talented midfielder enjoyed a standout loan spell with Portsmouth as they romped to the 2023/24 League One title, although he spent the second half of the season sidelined through injury.

Robertson endeared himself to the Fratton Park faithful, who were all too eager to see him return to the south coast ahead of their crusade into the Championship.

However, rather unsurprisingly, his exploits in the third-tier prompted interest elsewhere and Portsmouth, who had pursued a move for Robertson, were eventually beaten in the race by Championship rivals Cardiff.

John Mousinho admitted that Pompey had given everything in their efforts to bring Robertson back from Premier League champions Man City, but they were unable to financially compete with Cardiff.

The Bluebirds paid an initial fee just short of £1 million for Robertson, who signed a four-year contract in the Welsh capital, while the deal could reportedly treble in the future if relevant criteria are met.

Cardiff City's Alex Robertson opens up on Portsmouth's transfer interest

Both Cardiff and Portsmouth have struggled in the Championship so far this season, occupying relegation places after ten games, and they will be locking horns in Wales on Tuesday evening.

The affair already feels like a six-pointer for both sides. Cardiff have been buoyed as of late, with their miserable early-season form under Erol Bulut being relieved following the interim appointment of Omer Riza, who has lost just one of his opening four games in charge and guided the side to a stunning 5-0 thumping over Plymouth Argyle on Saturday afternoon.

Ahead of Portsmouth's visit to the Cardiff City Stadium, Robertson spoke about the interest his ex-side displayed during the off-season.

When quizzed on whether Portsmouth had been interested, Robertson said: "Yeah of course. There were quite a few clubs that I had conversations with.

"I was just drawn to Cardiff, the club, the team, everything about it I loved. I'm really enjoying my time here so far.

"I loved Portsmouth, it's a great club. It will be good to see some familiar faces, I've got a few really good friends still there."

Alex Robertson's start at Cardiff City will sting Portsmouth

Portsmouth were distraught and were left to lick their wounds when Robertson joined Cardiff at their expense in August, and the deal will only sting even more now.

The 21-year-old initially found a starting berth difficult to come by under Bulut, although his importance has elevated tenfold following the Turk's dismissal last month. Robertson has started each available match under Riza and his signing is beginning to appear a genuine masterstroke.

His finest hour to date arrived in the rout of Plymouth over the weekend, where Robertson opened the scoring after just 16 minutes with an excellent first-time strike from outside the area. He was class personified the whole afternoon, though.

Robertson allows Cardiff to dictate the tempo and hold the initiative with his composure, elegance and quality in bringing the ball forward out of defence, where he can either progressively carry possession into opposition territory or expand the pitch with an excellent range of passing.

The Man City academy product is also more than capable at breaking up play and helping Cardiff to regain possession, too, and he is quickly blossoming into the Bluebirds' leading player alongside mercurial playmaker Rubin Colwill.

It felt an inspired signing at the time, and that feeling only rings even more true following his start to life with Cardiff. With that in mind, then, Portsmouth may just wonder what could have been.