Portsmouth completed the signing of Joe Pigott from Ipswich Town on a season-long loan on Friday evening.

The 28-year-old endured a very underwhelming debut season with the Tractor Boys last term, in which he did not appear to be a first choice starter at any stage.

The Charlton Athletic academy graduate does have bags of goalscoring pedigree in League One behind him though, and is capable of spearheading Pompey's attacking contingent going into 2022/23.

The addition came with Marcus Harness signing for the Tractor Boys for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal.

Danny Cowley explained what Pigott will bring to Fratton Park when he spoke to the club's website.

He said: "We’ve got a player who is really hungry - he loves football and was starved of that a bit last season.

"So he’s highly motivated and was eager to come to Pompey, where he’s previously scored a few goals.

"Joe previously went back into non-league football with Maidstone, where he had a great record to earn his move to AFC Wimbledon.

"Joe will bring some real intelligence and good link play, while he obviously carries a threat in the final third.

"He's an excellent finisher with both feet and scores all kinds of goals, making clever runs behind defenders.

"We’re pleased to have Joe and I think we’ve signed him at exactly the right time.

"We’re really looking forward to working with him."

Pompey are in quite a nice position heading into the new season, where they are not expected to be in and around the automatic promotion conversation, but will be quietly confident of building a credible push towards the top end over the course of the campaign.

The Verdict

Losing Harness, especially to a direct third tier rival, is a very sore loss, and Pigott does not represent a direct replacement, but he does give them a far more menacing look in the striker position.

With Ellis Harrison, John Marquis and George Hirst no longer present on the South Coast, Pigott will be ready to take the reins and aim to get back to the goalscoring form that he showed in his time at AFC Wimbledon.

Strikers of Pigott's build, who do not rely on pace but more intelligent movement and physicality, can hit their peak later on in their careers, and therefore at 28 Pompey may have sealed one of the best performing seasons of the bagsman's playing days.