'Struck gold' - How former Fratton favourite Alex Robertson has fared at Cardiff ahead of huge Portsmouth reunion

The 21-year-old had spent the first half of the 2023-24 season on loan at Fratton Park, playing 27 games in total. He suffered a serious hamstring injury in training, however, and was ruled out for the remainder of the campaign in January. Despite being injured, Robertson stayed around the city, was spotted in the away end at Bolton, and took part in the end-of season-celebrations after the Blues secured the League One title.

Pompey knew what kind of player they had on their hands and believed he was capable of making the step up to the Championship. Cardiff had the same idea as the Blues, however, and it was the Bluebirds who came out on top in the race for his signature.

As fate would have it, Robertson is a direct rival of Pompey, with Cardiff one of their relegation rivals this season. And with the midfielder likely to play against his former club on Tuesday night, we’ve taken a look at how he has fared so far at Cardiff ahead of his return to the south coast.

A slow start...

John Mousinho said Pompey threw everything at it to try to sign Robertson and was satisfied by the club’s efforts to lure him back. Cardiff ended up signing him for an initial fee believed to be just shy of £1m according to WalesOnline, with Manchester City having a 25-per-cent sell-on-clause on any future sale.

Erol Bulut was Robertson’s first manager at Cardiff for the first two league games of the season, with the Aussie an unused substitute. Robertson enjoyed an outing in the Carabao Cup, scoring against Pompey’s fierce rivals Southampton, but he would only start three games under the Turkish boss before he was relieved of his duties.

Under caretaker boss Omer Riza he was revitalised, though, and was afforded a start against Hull City. So far, Robertson’s been a substitute for only one league game during Riza’s tenure. To date, he's made 28 appearances across all competitions, scoring four goals and registering two assists. He's managed to keep himself fit for the majority of matches, too, missing just four games.

At first, Robertson was played as a number eight in Cardiff’s midfield, going from box-to-box as it worked with him getting goals against Plymouth Argyle and Coventry City. Since Boxing Day, however, the former Man City youngster has been pushed higher up the pitch where he is being deployed as a No10, displacing Rubin Colwill, who had a positive showing against Pompey back in October.

Cardiff’s midfield consists of Calum Chambers, who began the season at centre-back, and club captain Joe Ralls. Aaron Ramsey has recently returned from injury and the Bluebirds signed Norwegian midfielder Sivert Mannsverk in January so there are different options at Riza’s disposal. Colwill scored a brace against Stoke City at the weekend and so that could force the manager to put Robertson in a deeper role to accommodate the Welshman.

A fan favourite at Cardiff City

A Cardiff City supporter would say Robertson is one of the first names on the team sheet. Fans have already made a chant for him, which goes to the tune of Oasis' 1995 hit single She's Electric.

Despite being under contract for another three years, there is a feeling there’s money to be made from Robertson. This is his first season in the Championship but it is clear that he is capable of playing at a higher level.

Twitter user CdiffBlue said in January: ‘Alex Robertson – what a signing! One of the best bits of business we've ever done. The Aussie midfielder has brought real quality to the squad, and he's only getting better. Cardiff struck gold with this one.

After his goal against Coventry City, jerryjamesaus on Twitter said: ‘Robertson will be snapped up by a premier league club soon, he is a serious talent.’

Looking at the Cardiff City forum, user cardiffboy1995 said: 'We need to keep him at all costs, no matter where we are playing next season!'