Alli: "I wanna make sure I score & assist as many goals as possible"

Blues winger Millenic Alli spoke with Express FM’s David Howes about his time on the south coast so far and his aspirations for the remainder of the season.

The Luton Town loanee was Portsmouth’s first signing of the January window, coming in on the 14th January, shortly after The FA Cup Third Round tie against Premier League leaders Arsenal.

So far, the Dublin-born attacker has played ten Championship matches, scoring one goal and assisting one.

On his time at Pompey so far, Alli said: “The way the gaffer (John Mousinho) wants to play suits me down to a T.

“He has given me that belief and opportunity to go and play and express myself, and I have done that, and it is going well so far.

“For this season, I wanna play as much as possible and make sure we finish as high as possible, and hopefully we can do that.”

Alli had a unique pathway to England’s second tier, with a heavy spell in non-league before he joined Exeter City in January 2024, then the Hatters in January 2025.

The 26-year-old earned his way to The Grecians, first after a successful spell on loan at Chorley FC, from Stockport County.

Before then going on to have an even bigger impact at FC Halifax Town, where he scored 16 goals in 54 appearances in the National League.

On his career in Non-League, Alli stated: “100%, my journey has helped shape me into who I am today.

“It was a blessing to be able to work my way up and have these opportunities come my way.”

The Blues number 27 scored his first goal in Pompey’s 3-0 victory at home to West Bromwich Albion last month, but he also came extremely close to scoring on his Fratton Park debut in the South Coast Derby.

“It was good to score (against West Brom), I had not scored for a while before that, and I need to get a few more now.”

Alli celebrated the goal with his iconic backflip, which he was known for after scoring goals for both Exeter and Luton.

“It's not a background (in Gymnastics), I used to just learn off my siblings, cousins as a kid, and it just became my celebration from there.”

Ahead of Saturday’s trip to Blackburn Rovers, Alli added: “It is going to be a very challenging game, as they all are.

“Sometimes everyone poses different threats, different problems, so we are going to have to deal with that head-on and try and come out with the 3 points.”

Take a listen to the full interview on Friday (March 6th) night's episode of The Football Hour on Express FM!