The striker now showing Portsmouth what they missed after baulking at his wages

In fact, Danny Cowley lost track of the amount of times they watched Notts County - with Kyle Wootton reconnaissance missions their primary objective.

The due diligence being undertaken ultimately proved fruitless, however, as Pompey baulked at matching the £5,000-a-week wages being offered by Football League new boys Stockport County.

Pompey clearly believed they could find better value elsewhere and it initially looked a wise decision, as Wootton endured a tough start to life in League Two this term.

The 26-year-old endured a desperate opening to the campaign, in which he returned just a single goal from his opening 17 appearances.

Hatters boss, Dave Challinor, has remained staunchly behind the forward this season, however, with that faith seeing Wootton remain in his side’s starting XI.

It’s an approach that has paid off handsomely since October, as the former Scunthorpe man has impressively hit the goal trail - returning 10 goals in 21 appearances.

That has culminated in Wootton bagging four goals in his last six appearances, as Stockport picked up five wins on the spin to leave them just a single point outside of the League Two automatic promotion spots.

In between the start of his goal run and his side’s latest success a personal accolade has arrived for powerful figure, as Wootton was named League Two’s player of the month for December after four goals in as many wins for his side.

Challinor, who was December’s manager of the month in League Two, referenced how the man who is now his side’s top scorer in the league with 11 goals has improved his strike rate

He told Stockport’s official site: ‘It’s great for Wootts to get recognition for his form.

‘I’ve spoken about it many times before, but a lot of what he brings to the team often goes under the radar, in terms of his work off the ball and ability to bring other people in to play – he’s a handful for any defence at any level with those attributes.

‘At times early on in the season he was almost too selfless in that respect, and one thing we have worked hard with him on in is getting into the right areas on a more regular basis – he’s been rewarded for that last month with four really well-taken goals, in two really important away wins for the team.’