'Arguably one of the best in League One': The lowdown on Oxford United's 'pantomime villain' who joined Portsmouth

Now the man described as the best winger in League One last season has joined Pompey - and he’s being backed to become a Fratton Park smash.

According to Liam Rice, sports reporter with the Oxford Mail, the 29-year-old was the driving force behind their League One play-off triumph to follow the Blues into the Championship.

Once told he had no Kassam Stadium future under Liam Manning, it was the November 2023 appointment of Des Buckingham which transformed the pacy winger’s fortunes.

From February he scored eight times in 18 matches, including two at Wembley in the play-off final against Bolton, glittering form which inevitably created plenty of interest when his contract expired this summer.

But John Mousinho won the race to capture his former team-mate - and Rice is convinced the former Cardiff man can continue to flourish with Pompey.

He told The News: ‘A couple of years ago, Blackpool were flirting with Cameron Brannagan, so Oxford decided to break the bank almost and gave him a long-term deal, which made him the highest-paid player at the club.

‘Subsequently, this summer, they were willing to say to Josh: “You can be the highest-paid player at the club - therefore also in the club’s history”. We are not talking substantially more, but it was enough.

’From February onwards, he was Oxford’s key player and arguably one of the best players in League One, if not the best winger in the league. There were goals, assists, he had full-backs on toast every week.

‘Des Buckingham wants them to play with pace out wide, which suited him down to the ground. It culminated quite nicely with a brace at Wembley to win the play-off final.

‘Josh is quick, rapid, quite an old-fashioned winger who will knock it past his man and it’s a sprint race. He has things up his sleeve, like step-overs and all that sort of stuff, but doesn’t really rely on trickery to get past his man, it’s that sheer speed.

‘He was a right footer operating on the left wing, so had the option of cutting in onto his right foot from the left and getting a shot off. He’s happy to go outside or inside, but his pace is absolutely his biggest weapon.

‘Murphy was Oxford’s match winner from February. The tactic wasn’t quite about getting the ball to him and letting him run havoc, but he was the go-to man, the sort of player you’d want on the ball in the final third. That, ultimately, is where they got a lot of joy.

‘However, it has to be said, February didn’t reflect his entire two years at Oxford.’

Murphy arrived at Oxford in July 2022 on a free transfer from Cardiff, who had spent £11m to lure him from Norwich when in the Premier League four years previous.

According to Rice, it was only when Buckingham arrived as head coach following Manning’s departure for Bristol City that Murphy really began to show his best form.

He added: ‘Josh arrived under Karl Robinson as a marquee signing, there was a lot of hype and excitement about him, as well as pressure.

‘He had niggling fitness concerns, he never really got in form when playing. Then Liam Manning came in and had to get Oxford out of a relegation scrap, with Josh not the player who fitted that.

‘Last summer he was basically told to find a new club, you’re out, you’re not wanted. Manning wasn’t keen.

‘When Buckingham arrived in November, it changed Josh’s career. There were glimpses before, but he looked like a new player, so fresh.

‘Before he was the pantomime villain almost and was out in the cold, but that all changed under Buckingham and he became the footballer we know he is.’