Port Vale and Lincoln City were among the clubs interested in signing Portsmouth new boy Terry Devlin this summer, according to the Belfast Telegraph.
Portsmouth have managed to win the race ahead of other clubs to land the midfielder from Glentoran.
Devlin, who is 19-years-old, is being tipped for a bright future in the game and has penned a three-year deal at Fratton Park, with the club holding the option for a further 12 months on top of that.
The Belfast Telegraph claim he has been attracting plenty of transfer interest from England over recent times with League One pair Port Vale and Lincoln City said to have been keeping tabs on his progress along with Sunderland, Stoke City and Crystal Palace.
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Port Vale and Lincoln City lose out
Port Vale will have to look elsewhere for reinforcements to their squad as they prepare for Andy Crosby’s first full season in charge at Vale Park. They finished 18th in the last campaign and ended four points above the relegation zone.
Lincoln have already brought in midfielder Alistair Smith which suggests they had other targets lined up to Devlin. The former Altrincham man has made the switch on a free transfer to the LNER Stadium after an impressive spell in League Two at Sutton United.
Portsmouth have been busy over recent times as they look to gain promotion to the Championship. As well as Devlin, they have bolstered their squad by signing goalkeeper Will Norris from Burnley, defender Conor Shaughnessy from Burton Albion and striker Christian Saydee from AFC Bournemouth.
John Mousinho took over from Danny Cowley in January and he has since won 43.48% of matches in charge.