'Exceeding expectations': Rising star loving explosive start to Portsmouth career after snubbing Derby and Sunderland

It was 21 months ago when the Blues recruited a promising 19-year-old from Northern Ireland Premiership side Glentoran in a £90,000 deal.

Now the versatile performer has 53 Pompey appearances under his belt, a League One title, 10 Championship starts and a new three-and-a-half-year deal.

Those accomplishments have been achieved at breakneck speed and Devlin is currently standing on the brink of another - his Northern Ireland debut.

Michael O’Neill’s team have upcoming friendlies against Switzerland (March 21) and Sweden (March 25) during the international break.

And, having progressed through Northern Ireland’s youth age groups, it tantalisingly represents another impressive landmark for a youngster in a hurry.

Devlin told The News: ‘I’ve exceeded my expectations big time coming here. For a lot of people, it has exceeded expectations.

‘I was signed as a development player for the future and thankfully I’ve settled in really well and am probably now ahead of where I should be.

‘In that first season I didn’t expect to go out on loan, but be a squad player, perhaps out of the squad for a while. It was just about training, trying to learn as much as possible, improving every day - and maybe involved in some match-day squads.

‘Thankfully I settled in really well and was able to get into a lot of match-day squads, picking up a few starts last year as well. Then I got my shoulder injury at the end of January, which is part of football.

‘The injury actually made me a better player, I got the chance to work on myself physically, which was the wake-up call I needed to step up into Championship football.

‘Then I had a chat with the gaffer before I went home last summer, and he said he still wanted me around and saw me as part of the Championship squad, rather than sending me out on loan.

’That was a massive boost for me to know he trusts me and wants me to be involved in his Championship squad. That put it into my head that I needed to go home and work as hard as I could to come back and be ready.

‘I set myself goals at the start of last season and beat my target. This year I aimed for 20-plus appearances in the Championship - and I have that already.

‘My next goal is to make my Northern Ireland debut, which would be unbelievable. I’m just buzzing at the minute, I need to keep going and working as hard as I can and playing as much as I can.’

Beating off Derby, Stoke and Sunderland to sign Devlin

After featuring 32 times and scoring twice in Glentoran’s 2022-23 campaign, Pompey headed a queue of clubs interested in bringing Devlin to England.

Derby, Sunderland, Stoke and Brentford were also regarded by the Blues as rivals for the starlet’s services, prompting them to move swiftly after being scouted by then-head of recruitment Phil Boardman.

The midfielder arrived at Fratton Park in June 2023 for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year deal to become the fourth recruit of that busy summer.

These days, John Mousinho prefers to utilise him at right-back, with a start in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Preston his latest outing in the position.

Meanwhile, having already represented Northern Ireland from under-15 to under-21 levels, Devlin has long been on the radar of his country.

And, having previously been named in the senior squad against Finland in November 2023, without featuring off the bench, he’s hoping to finally get that chance.

Devlin added: ‘There were bits of interest in the summer of 2023, but it was always Pompey, they were the quickest and made it the most appealing for me.

‘I trust my agent’s call, obviously that's why I have him, it was a no-brainer. When Pompey wanted to sign me, I couldn’t wait to get it done, my family were buzzing with it as well.

‘League One is a huge step up from where I was and this was an opportunity to maybe progress higher with the club and thankfully we have.

‘Now we’re in the Championship and I'm absolutely loving it.’

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