Portsmouth underachiever joins fourth club in two years since Fratton Park exit as nomadic career for ex-Middlesbrough and Coventry man continues

Bryn Morris completed a free-transfer switch to Newport County on Friday following his Grimsby release.

Signing a two-year deal, it represents the 27-year-old’s 12th club in a career which has sadly failed to live up to early promise as an England youth international.

In recent years, after leaving Pompey in the summer of 2021, he has featured for Burton, had a loan spell at Hartlepool, and then spent a season with the Mariners.

Now Morris has arrived at Rodney Parade, signifying Graham Coughlan’s third capture of the close season as he attempts to improve on last term’s placing of 15th in League Two.

Announcing the signing, Newport’s boss told the club’s official site: ‘Bryn is a great addition. He has a lot of experience and will give us additional ball control in the middle of the park.

‘He has a great engine which will fit into how we play. He is also a great character who displays strong leadership qualities, so I’m really looking forward to working with him.’

Morris’ two-and-a-half years at Fratton Park were not a success, blighted by injury problems and form issues in a forgettable stay.

The Blues splashed out an undisclosed fee to recruit him from Shrewsbury in January 2019 as Kenny Jackett sought to strengthen their grip at the top of League One.

However, injuries restricted him to just five starts during the second half of that season as Pompey slipped to fourth, before losing to Sunderland in the play-offs.

Morris didn’t play any league or cup matches at all in 2019-20, only to be surprisingly recalled for their play-off semi-final against Oxford United – after 14 months out.

What’s more, to the shock of team-mates and supporters, he dislodged skipper Tom Naylor for both legs, as Jackett’s men were eliminated by a second-leg penalty shoot-out.

The former Middlesbrough man then started the 2020-21 campaign alongside Naylor in Pompey’s midfield, being handed seven straight appearances.

He stayed around the side until January 2021, when he was loaned to Northampton for the rest of the season – and the remainder of his Blues contract.

Inevitably released in the summer of 2021 after 28 outings and one goal for Pompey, he was snapped up by Burton, where he featured 10 times before on the move again.

In January 2022, Morris was loaned to home-town club Hartlepool, making 11 appearances and scoring once, and was released by Burton upon his return.

Next was Grimsby, joining on a 12-month deal last summer, where he racked up 42 games and two goals to finally establish himself as a first-team regular.

He also came off the bench at St Mary’s for the Mariners’ notable FA Cup upset over Southampton in March.

Now, following his release from Grimsby at the season’s end, he has joined Newport.

Another club to add to a lengthy list which also contains Middlesbrough, Burton, Coventry, York, Walsall, Shrewsbury, Wycombe and, of course, Pompey.