Reason behind Conor Chaplin's surprise Portsmouth squad number call after return from Ipswich Town
Conor Chaplin completed a sensational Fratton Park return on deadline day, penning a season-long loan from Ipswich Town.
The first chance to catch a glimpse of the deadline day signing in action for the Blues will be in the upcoming south-coast derby at St Mary’s, with John Mousinho’s men making the trip across the M27 to face bitter rivals Southampton.
But supporters have been left wondering why the 28-year-old has been given a surprise kit number following his sensational return to PO4.
Chaplin has selected the number 36 to wear during his season-long loan stay from Ipswich Town, with some fans questioning that decision.
However, the Pompey academy graduate has lifted the lid behind the decision, with a post from 2014 explaining why.
After rising through the ranks at PO4, the young talent was part of Andy Awford’s travelling side to take on Yeovil Town in an EFL Trophy contest in September 2014.
Although Chaplin wasn’t named in the matchday squad, he did travel to Huish Park as the 19th-man - something he revealed on Instagram at the time.
That same post has since resurfaced online following his return, with the Fratton favourite captioning a photo of his kit, saying: ‘Unbelievable experience being involved with the first team. Great win for the boys!!’
The forward would go onto make his first-team debut under Awford later that season, registering a five-minute cameo from the bench against Accrington Stanley in December 2014.
Chaplin would wear the number 36 for the rest of the 2014-15 campaign before donning the 19 shirt for the remainder of his Fratton Park career.
And following his emotional homecoming on Monday, the Ipswich Town loanee has made the poignant decision to once again return to the number he made his professional debut in, aged 17.
His previous 19 Fratton Park shirt is now occupied by Jacob Farrell, while his number 10, which was seen during his time at Portman Road, has been taken up by Adrian Segecic.
Pompey’s 2025-26 shirt numbers in full
Nicolas Schmid - 1; Jordan Williams - 2; Connor Ogilvie - 3; Josh Knight - 4; Regan Poole - 5; Conor Shaughnessy - 6; Marlon Pack - 7; John Swift - 8; Colby Bishop - 9; Adrian Segecic - 10; Florian Bianchini - 11; Pompey Fans - 12; Hayden Matthews - 14; Franco Umeh - 15; Luke Le Roux - 16; Ibane Bowat - 17; Mark Kosznovszky - 18; Jacob Farrell - 19; Thomas Waddingham - 20; Andre Dozzell - 21; Zak Swanson - 22; Josh Murphy - 23; Terry Devlin - 24; Makenzie Kirk - 25; Josef Bursik - 26; Reuben Swann - 28; Harvey Blair - 29; Jordan Archer - 30; Ben Killip - 31; Toby Steward - 33; Conor Chaplin - 36; Harry Clout - 41; Minhyeok Yang - 47; Callum Lang - 49.