Denver Hume reveals reasoning behind his decision to swap Sunderland for Portsmouth | OneFootball

Denver Hume has revealed that he decided to leave Sunderland in order to give himself a better chance of playing regular first-team football.

As confirmed by the Black Cats’ official website, Hume joined Portsmouth on a permanent transfer yesterday following a 13-year stint on Wearside.

Although the fee agreed between the two clubs has not been disclosed, a recent report from BBC South journalist Andrew Moon has suggested that Pompey had an offer of £175k accepted by Sunderland for the left-back.

Hume helped Sunderland reach the play-offs last season by making 23 appearances in League One for the club during the regular season.

After letting his previous deal expire in the summer, Hume opted to sign a new contract with the Black Cats in September and went on to feature on eight occasions in all competitions before sealing a switch to Pompey.

The 23-year-old could be in line to make his debut for Portsmouth when they face Charlton Athletic on Monday.

Ahead of this fixture, Hume has admitted that he made the decision to call time on his stint at Sunderland due to the fact that he believes that he will have a better chance of playing regularly at this level for Pompey.

Speaking to Hampshire Live, Hume said: “Sometimes, you kind of know when it’s [the] right time to move on and when a new challenge arrives, I’m the kind of person and player who wants to take that.

“It’s the opposite end of the country, you do have to put in them factors of leaving home and going to the other side of the country.

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“I think ultimately, how I weighed it up was I just wanted to get back to enjoying playing football regularly and Portsmouth is a massive club as well with big ambitions and looks like it is heading in the right direction.

“I think that probably made my mind up to make the decision to come here.”

The Verdict

When you consider that Hume was unable to provide any serious competition for Dennis Cirkin following the defender’s move to the Stadium of Light last summer, it is hardly a surprise that he has opted to complete a switch to Portsmouth.

Whereas Sunderland will be confident in their ability to push on in the absence of Hume, Portsmouth will be hoping that the defender will be able to help them launch a bid for a top-six finish in the coming months.

Having made 68 appearances in the third-tier during his career, the defender clearly knows exactly what it takes to compete at this level.

Keeping this in mind, it wouldn’t be at all surprising if Hume makes an instant impact for Pompey when they take on Charlton at Fratton Park next week.

By producing some consistent performances at this level, Hume could eventually become Portsmouth’s first-choice left-back ahead of Lee Brown and Reeco Hackett.