Ex-Portsmouth man signed to replace player sold to Portsmouth is handed shock international call-up - by former Portsmouth player

Now Alex Grant has helped them into the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League Two and has been handed a shock call-up for Australia as he flourishes being back in the A-League.

Manchester-born, but raised in Western Australia, he was recruited by the Sky Blues from China Super League side Tianjin Jinmen in February on a short-term deal to replace Matthews.

Before that, the left-sided centre-half had been at South Korean club Pohang Steelers, featuring in an AFC Champions League Final, in the K-League and the Korean Cup during a successful three seasons.

Returning to Australia for the first time since February 2021, he today netted on his fourth outing as Sydney recovered from 2-0 down to beat South Korean club Joenbuk in the quarter-finals of Champions League 2.

They will now face Singapore team Lion City Sailors in the two-legged semi-finals, with a date to be decided.

Grant started his career at Fratton Park as an apprentice, during a period in which he also featured on loan at Eastleigh and the Hawks.

He made his only Blues first-team appearance in the infamous Carling Cup clash with Plymouth in August 2012, when Michael Appleton’s line-up was almost exclusively made up of Academy graduates for an average age below 20.

With Pompey in administration and under a registration embargo, Grant was named alongside Jed Wallace, Dan Butler, Sam Magri, Dan Thompson, George Colson and Andy Higgins in the starting XI for their debuts.

They were joined by Adam Webster and Ashley Harris, who had previously made their Championship debuts, 35-year-old assistant manager Ashley Westwood and goalkeeper Simon Eastwood.

Grant featured at centre-back alongside Westwood as Pompey slipped to a 3-0 defeat, albeit with the last two goals arriving in the final three minutes of the Home Park clash.

Aged 18 years, 6 months and 22 days, that would prove to be his sole Blues outing and, after being released at the season’s end, he was snapped up by Stoke.

The defender spent the 2014-15 campaign on loan at Macclesfield, making 25 appearances and scoring twice, before leaving the Potters in the summer of 2015 without playing for them.

Grant returned to his native Australia with Perth Glory in June 2015, where he spent six years in the A-League, before moving to Pohang Steele.

Now with Sydney, his form upon his Australia return has warranted a first international call-up with the Socceroos.

Boss Tony Popovic has been hit with a spate of injuries at centre-half, including Matthews, Harry Souttar, Alessandro Circati, Cameron Burgess and Thomas Deng.

That has prompted Grant to be included in their squad for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against Indonesia and China, having recently been scouted by Popovic’s number two - Hayden Foxe.

Foxe, of course, was an integral member of the 2002-03 Pompey side which reach the Premier League under Harry Redknapp and totalled 46 games and two goals during his time on the south coast.

Pompey are also waiting to discover whether Kusini Yengi returns to Popovic’s squad, having been sidelined for three months after suffering knee ligament damage in November on international duty.

He has since featured twice off the bench for the Blues, although was unused in Wednesday night’s 2-1 defeat to Plymouth.

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