Jayden Stockley explains why he snubbed Portsmouth to join Charlton from Preston

The striker opted to return to The Valley from Preston rather than join the Blues earlier this month.

He joined the Addicks for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year deal.

Danny Cowley was keen to bolster his forward line by adding Stockley to his ranks at Fratton Park.

At one stage, Pompey felt they were close to securing the ex-Bournemouth man's services.

However, Charlton intervened and swooped in to make Stockley's deal permanent, having scored eight goals in 22 games on loan during the second half of last season.

Speaking to the South London Press, the sought-after 27-year-old admitted he thought about a move to Pompey 'very seriously'.

However, Stockley revealed he was always leaning towards rejoining the Addicks amid a host of clubs chasing his signature.

He said: It’s (Pompey) an absolutely fantastic club and it is very close to where I’m from.

‘It was something I did take very seriously but I felt my loyalty – in terms of the relationships I’d already built at Charlton – were too much to walk away from. My loyalty, on a sub-conscious level, was always hinged towards them.

‘Every decision I made was almost based on: "What are Charlton thinking or doing?".

‘In my head, they had first refusal. I wanted to let Charlton play their hand before I made a decision on anything.

‘It wasn’t a case of trying to use people to leverage my situation. There was none of that. I went with my gut instincts at every opportunity.

‘You try and put as much information on the table in those situations to make the best decision.’

The likes of Ipswich and Sheffield Wednesday were also reportedly battling Pompey for Stockley’s services when it was clear his days at Preston were numbered.

The former Exeter marksman added: ‘It was probably the most in-demand that I’ve ever been.

‘I had more admirers this summer than I did when I left Exeter after I had scored all those goals there. It seemed to be a new club every day that was interested.

‘I was absolutely flattered, but also felt quite proud because there were a lot of really good teams in this league.

‘I could have stayed at Preston in the January and just floated on the bench – getting a few starts there until my contract expired at the end of next season.

‘But I wanted to do something about it and change my way of thinking; to go out there, play football and feel important again – get to experience playing week in and week out.’