'Nothing to worry about' - former Southampton boss Gordon Strachan makes Luke Graham admission amid Portsmouth interest in Dundee defender
Former Southampton boss and current Dundee technical director Gordon Strachan has been sharing his thoughts on Pompey target Luke Graham
Gordon Strachan has reassured Dundee fans that the noise around Pompey target Luke Graham’s future is ‘nothing to worry about’.
The Dens Park technical director insisted interest in the Blues, QPR and Sheffield United-linked defender is ‘not a problem’ as he emphasised the 18 months the 21-year-old still had remaining on his Dark Blues contract.
Pompey have the centre-back high on their wanted list, with recent reports in Scotland claiming Steven Pressley’ side rejected a six-figure bid from the Championship outfit during the current January transfer window.
Since then, however, Sunderland defender Aji Alese has been recruited to bolster a Pompey backline that went into last weekend’s south-coast derby against Southampton with one fit centre-back. Meanwhile, Dundee have had their own struggles with defensive injuries as both former Blues captain Clark Robertson (thigh) and Billy Koumetio (knee) have been ruled out for the forseeable future.
Both factors reduce the probability of Graham leaving Dens Park before Monday’s 7pm transfer transfer deadline.
And that’s reflected in Strachan’s comments after he was asked about the young defender’s prospects of saying goodbye to Dundee in the coming days. Although, it’s safe to say the Scottish Premiership side would find it hard to turn down an offer than exceeded their £1m valuation of the Scotland under-21 international.
What Gordon Strachan has said about Luke Graham
When asked if Graham would still be a Dundee player beyond Monday, the former Southampton manager is quoted in the Press & Journal to have said: ‘Well, he has a contract until next summer, so he has 18 months.
‘It is fine, not a problem and nothing to worry about.’
Sharing his thoughts on the player Strachan also added: ‘The club (Dundee) have put so much work into Luke.
‘What he has done is an example to young kids everywhere. He went to Lochee United, Albion Rovers, Montrose and Falkirk (on loan) which is a hard shift to put in - sspecially with us as we made him also train with us.
‘We would put a development game in at night and even if he played on Saturday it was a case of we don’t care, you’re playing again tonight. We didn’t just test him physically, but also mentally.
‘Luke has been tested all the way through that.
‘He made a mistake against Kilmarnock recently for the first goal but was brilliant after that.
‘Luke has been through the character building stuff and can definitely play. He can read the game and is good in the air.
‘Luke has a lot going for him and we are just happy that he is doing so well for us just now.’
Mousinho 50/50 if second centre-back signing is needed
Conor Shaughnessy provided Pompey with a fitness boost during the week, with John Mousinho admitting the Irishman’s hip flexor injury is not as serious as initially thought.
Indeed, amid fears he could be out for the rest of the season, the end of February has now been earmarked for his return.
The Blues still have longer-term injury concerns with Hayden Matthews (ankle) and Josh Knight (back), while Regan Poole (groin) was only fit to take a place on the bench for the draw with Saints.
And although Alese has been brought in to ease the pressure on the defence, Mousinho remains undecided whether a second centre-half signing this month is necessary.
He told The News: ‘Whether we now need to sign two centre-halves is 50/50 for us at the moment.
‘It’s tough because, at some point, we’re going to have Shocks back, we’re going to have Hayden back, we're going to have Josh Knight back, Regan’s going to be back as well, so we just have to balance that off.
‘We don’t want to be too heavy, but, at the same time, we’ve got games to win in the short-term. I think there’s a conversation to be had, I’m not sure of the answer to that.’
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