James Bolton believes he can make more headlines at Portsmouth after leaving Shrewsbury

And that’s something James Bolton believes he can build on, as he aims to help deliver Championship football to Fratton Park.

The 24-year-old ended the wait for a done deal at PO4, after sealing a three-year deal on Friday following his exit from Shrewsbury.

Bolton’s showed an ability to pop up with an important finish or two in a couple of impressive seasons at New Meadow.

Blues fans will remember that, after he got the only goal of the game in a key 1-0 win at Fratton Park for Paul Hurst’s side in the 2017-18 campaign.

That was the former Gateshead man’s only effort of the season, but he bettered that total last time with two of his three goals coming in the Shrews’ headline-grabbing FA Cup run.

His impressive finish against boyhood club Stoke sparked a comeback 3-2 victory in a third-round replay.

Then his team took Premier League Wolves to a return, in which the powerful right-back was on the mark with an equalising header in an eventual 3-2 loss.

Those moments show Bolton can handle the heat when under the microscope, but he feels hitting the back of the net is an area he can improve on at Fratton Park.

Bolton said: ‘As a player, I’m hard-working and somebody who can get up and down.

‘I’m quite good in the air and quite good defending. I feel I’m an all-round decent defender.

‘I can go forward and be a bit of a goal threat, too.

‘I 100 per cent feel I’ve got it in my locker to improve my goal threat, though.

‘Maybe it’s a bit of luck or maybe the ball not quite falling for me.

‘I seem to get a lot of opportunities and I think I just need one to go in.

‘I scored a few last year but I would be hoping to add more to that total, to be honest.

‘There was the goal I scored at Portsmouth. Then last season there was Stoke and the other one was at Wolves, to get us back in it.

‘I seem to turn up in the big ones, but I would like to add a bit more to it.

‘I think there’s a lot more I can add to my game.

‘There’s no doubt in my mind there’s more to come really.’

Bolton will be linking up with familiar faces when he arrives for pre-season training at the end of the month.

Both Craig MacGillivray and Bryn Morris are players he knows from his time at Shrewsbury, as he follows an increasingly well-trodden path from Shropshire to Fratton.

Their advice helped confirm what the former Stoke trainee already knew about his new club.

‘I spoke to Craig and spoke to Bryn,’ Bolton added.

‘I spoke to them both about the place, where they’re staying and the club in general.

‘They told me how they’re finding it - and it was nice to get a little insight into what they’re thinking. They love it here.

‘Bryn has been hampered with injury which he wasn’t happy with.

‘But Craig has kicked on massively and had an unreal year, so he’s buzzing.

‘They all had positive things to say, so I’m looking forward to it here.’