Joe Morrell: Wales midfielder eyes restart with club and country

Morrell began his career at Bristol City, playing a handful of senior games after coming through the youth ranks, and had successful loan spells at Cheltenham Town and Lincoln City before making a permanent move to Luton Town in 2020.

He left Kenilworth Road after one season – and only 11 appearances – to join Portsmouth, the first club where he “found a home in football”.

“In an ideal world, I’d have loved nothing more than to stay at Pompey and hopefully help them in the Championship,” Morrell added.

“But I also appreciate they have got difficult decisions to make and they have a budget which is not a massive budget for a Championship club.

“I felt I could have contributed this year, but they brought in 15 players and to be able to do that, it was a case of me not being there. I understand that.”

Morrell, who has also done some of his recovery week with the Football Association of Wales’ medical staff, thinks he is around a month away from being able to take part in full training.

He hopes, therefore, that he will soon be signing for a new club – though it is unclear for now where that might be.

Wrexham were touted as admirers over the summer, and Morrell would “definitely be interested” should Phil Parkinson come calling.

“In the Football league, there’s not many more exciting projects than Wrexham,” he added.

“To be fair I don’t think they need much help at the moment.”

If the immediate goal is to sort out his club future, Morrell also has an eye on Wales.