Josh Murphy has dropped further context behind his decision to leave Oxford United for Portsmouth after helping the U’s back to the Championship.

The winger, who joined Oxford on a two-year contract in the summer of 2022 following his release from Cardiff City, initially struggled for form and regular action at the Kassam Stadium before finding his feet after the appointment of Des Buckingham last November.

Murphy was integral for Oxford throughout the second half of the 2023/24 campaign, which he finished with 10 goals and five assists to his name across all competitions.

His crowning moment, of course, came in May’s play-off final showdown between Oxford and Bolton Wanderers, where he bagged a brace at Wembley to inspire a 2-0 victory and a long-awaited return to the second-tier of English football for Buckingham’s side.

According to reports, Oxford had promptly presented a new deal for Murphy within 24 hours after their promotion to the Championship. Further offers were fielded before Oxford made a final proposal, which would have seen Murphy become the highest-paid player in the club’s history.

But the 29-year-old, who was approaching the conclusion of his contract, eventually elected to reject Oxford and join Portsmouth on a three-year deal following their own promotion under ex-U’s stalwart John Mousinho, a former teammate of Murphy.

Portsmouth’s Josh Murphy adds fresh context to Oxford United snub

Murphy has explained the thought process behind his decision to turn down Oxford’s in favour of a switch to the south coast.

The former Norwich City and Cardiff forward explained that the Fratton Park atmosphere, Portsmouth’s size as a club and Mousinho’s own vision were all key reasons as to why he left Oxford for Portsmouth.

“We played there at the end of last season and the atmosphere was just unbelievable. It felt like a really good fit,” Murphy told Sky Sports.

“I know the manager and what he wanted to do. They’re effectively a sleeping giant, they’ve got massive aspirations and I want to be a part of that journey.

“It’s a new challenge for me here and I’m just really excited to kick on.”

Oxford United have not missed Josh Murphy following Portsmouth switch

Of the three sides who gained promotion to the Championship last season, Portsmouth headed into the new season with the highest expectation after going up as champions while playing a progressive and attack-minded brand of football under Mousinho.

However, they have endured the toughest start to the new campaign, whereas Oxford and even Derby County have each enjoyed positive introductions.

Oxford find themselves in 11th-place with three victories from their opening seven matches, which is a stark contrast to Portsmouth’s lowly early position.

It is worth pointing out that Pompey were dealt with a daunting early-season fixture schedule, having already faced off against all three newly-relegated sides in Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton Town, alongside four promotion hopefuls – Leeds United, Middlesbrough, Sunderland and league leaders West Bromwich Albion.

Rather unsurprisingly, they have not won any of their first seven games of the season and are currently in 23rd position, although they will be eyeing a potential climb up the table with upcoming clashes against Stoke City and Oxford.

It will be interesting to see the form of reception Murphy receives from the travelling U’s faithful at Fratton Park on Saturday, although they really have not missed the winger all that much so far.

Murphy, who missed the start of the season through injury, has real pedigree at Championship level and should prove to be a shrewd pick-up by Pompey as the year goes on, but Oxford have had a great start and the likes of Malcom Ebiowei, Tyler Goodrham and Siriki Dembele may end up filling his void rather well.