Portsmouth's former Preston and Rochdale defender Joe Rafferty names the two former Fratton Park players he consulted before making move

The Blues new boy sought advice from two former team-mates and one-time PO4 residences before signing a two-year deal with the club.

And according to Rafferty, both David Nugent and Andy Cannon spoke highly of Pompey to convince him that this was the right move for him.

The ex-Preston defender became Blues boss Danny Cowley’s third signing of the transfer window on Monday, following Marlon Pack and Zak Swanson to the south coast.

There was interest from elsewhere in the 28-year-old, with Tranmere reportedly keen to sign the Liverpudlian.

However, after consulting with both Nugent and Cannon, the right-back said their words of advice were hard to ignore.

Rafferty told the club website: ‘I talked to Andy Cannon and he couldn’t speak highly enough about the club and the city. He loved his time here.

‘David Nugent also sold Pompey to me really well. He’s another lad like me, who has come down from Liverpool.’

In truth, both ringing endorsements come from players who had mixed fortunes at Fratton Park.

After arriving from Preston for £6m in the summer of 2007, Nugent was told just weeks later by Harry Redknapp that he was free to leave if the right offer came in for him.

No move materialised, though, and he was used sparingly by the Blues’ FA Cup-winning manager before his own departure in October 2008.

Nugent’s first two seasons at Fratton Park saw him score six goals in 41 appearances.

He was loaned out to Burnley in 2009-10 but returned to Pompey for their return to the Championship in 2010-11, scoring 14 before leaving on a free transfer to Leicester.

Cannon made 79 appearances following his £150,000 move from Rochdale in January 2019.

His Fratton Park career proved something of a slow-burner, though, making just two outings during his first six months at he club.

Eighteen appearances followed in 2019-20, before Cannon finally established himself under Kenny Jackett for the 2020-21 campaign.

The midfielder made 49 appearances in total that season, but only two of those were starts after Jackett’s dismissal and Cowley’s appointment as interim manager.

The 26-year-old subsequently left the club last summer on a free transfer despite the Blues having the option of another 12 months on his contract.

Rafferty added: ‘This is a massive club – and I always want to play for the biggest clubs possible. As soon as Pompey came in, that’s who I wanted to sign for.

‘There were a couple of other sides interested and this came around quite quickly. It’s the right move for me.

‘I can tell that all the staff here love their football and they want to do as well as they can. That can only help the players.

‘There are some brilliant teams in League One and it’s going to be really competitive and I can’t wait to get going.’