please log in to view this image Apparently, Leicester City want to sign Pompey winger Josh Murphy! The 30 year old joined Pompey on a free transfer from Oxford United a year ago, but his performances last season have obviously caught the eye. Hopefully we can keep him, but, if he wants to go, we should demand a minimum fee of £5 million. Worth every penny.....
please log in to view this image St Johnstone have accepted a bid from Pompey for Makenzie Kirk. The 5' 10" tall Northern Ireland international will head to the south coast on Sunday for his medical before the transfer is officially confirmed. The Courier report that St Johnstone accepted bids from Portsmouth and Peterborough United, but Kirk favoured the Championship with the Blues over the Posh in League One. Kirk wasn’t in the match-day squad for the Perth side’s 1-1 draw with Morton and boss Simo Valakari revealed he has played his last game for them. “Makenzie will travel down south tomorrow for a medical,” he said. “It pretty much looks like he will move on. “You can always want more but you have to be realistic, this was a very good deal for us and a very good deal for the player. “It’s a good deal for Portsmouth as well. “Strikers who score goals are a rare breed and Makenzie is one of them. “Last year he scored 11 goals in a struggling team. He has scored 4 goals in 7 matches so far this season. “I can see why a big club has taken this chance on him. “We all hope it will work out. “This is his chance to prove himself in an exciting league and we wish him all the best. “We were very happy to have him for this short time.”
please log in to view this image Apparently, Portsmouth are getting closer to completing a permanent deal for 6' tall Crystal Palace U21 forward/winger Franco Umeh. One source who has spoken to BBC Sport suggests the fee could be around £500,000. Umeh has been on the bench for Oliver Glasner’s side on a few occasions but has not made a senior appearance for the club. The 20-year-old joined Crystal Palace from Cork City in 2023 and has represented the Republic of Ireland from Under 17 to Under 21 level.
please log in to view this image Portsmouth FC can announce a mutual agreement with Abdoulaye Kamara for him to end his contract with the club. The 20-year-old midfielder has now signed a deal with FC Saarbrücken, who compete in the third tier of German football. Blues boss John Mousinho said: “We thank Abdoulaye for his efforts last season and wish him well for the future. Hopefully he can now really push on and enjoy some regular first team football.” Kamara arrived at Fratton Park from Borussia Dortmund last summer, having previously come through the ranks at Paris Saint-Germain. He was handed his debut from the bench in a home Championship contest with Sunderland and made a total of six appearances for the club.
please log in to view this image Pompey are apparently interested in signing 6' 2" tall goalkeeper Josef Bursik from Belgian side Club Brugge. The 25 year old previously played for Stoke City, and has made 10 appearances for England Under 21's. Could be Jordan Archer may be about to depart?
please log in to view this image Portsmouth have signed Club Brugge goalkeeper Josef Bursik for an undisclosed fee on a two-year deal. The 25-year-old made 50 Championship appearances for Stoke City before joining the Belgian side in January 2023. He spent last season on loan with Scottish Premiership side Hibernian and made 17 appearances in all competitions for them.
please log in to view this image Shock of shocks!! - Ipswich Town forward Conor Chaplin is set to return to his local club Portsmouth on loan for the rest of the season, TWTD understands. Chaplin, 28, has been a key player in Kieran McKenna’s back-to-back promotion-winning side having signed for his old Pompey boss Paul Cook from Barnsley in the summer of 2021. We understand there is a recall clause in the deal which could see the attacker come back to Portman Road in January, however, with his contract up next summer, it may be that Chaplin played his last game for the Blues against Derby at the weekend. In total, Chaplin has made 127 starts and 47 sub appearances, scoring 55 times. Worthing-born Chaplin, who came through the ranks at Pompey before moving on to Coventry in January 2019, was joint-top scorer in League One in the 2022/23 campaign, netting 23 times, plus three more in cup competitions. Watch this space!!
please log in to view this image Pompey have completed the signing of 21-year-old striker Makenzie Kirk from St Johnstone for an undisclosed fee. The Northern Ireland under-21 international has put pen to paper on a three-year contract at Fratton Park, with the deal subject to international clearance. Blues boss John Mousinho said: “We’re bringing in a player who’s an incredibly exciting young prospect and has already featured in plenty of first team games up in Scotland. “As well as being one for the future, we believe he’s someone who can have a positive impact on the side right now. “We’re very excited to have Makenzie in our squad. I’m looking forward to working with him and watching him continue to develop.”
Two Pompey players have departed Fratton Park on loan. One is permanent, with 26 year old centre half Tom McIntyre joining first division Bradford City on a season long loan. His Pompey contract expires at the end of this season, so he will be a free agent to either join Bradford permanently, or another club of his choice. Talented academy striker 17 year old Tayo Singerr; who scored a superb goal against Reading in the Carabao Cup; has signed a short term loan to local club Moneyfield Sports, to gain further experience.
please log in to view this image Pompey have signed forward Franco Umeh from Crystal Palace for an undisclosed fee (believed to be £500,000). The 20-year-old – who can play anywhere across the front line – has agreed a four-year deal at Fratton Park.
Well it is interesting to compare our squad now to last seasons. The current back five are all as last year. The reserves may be stronger with Bowat and Farrel returning from injury. Williams and Swanson continue to compete. Bowat, Matthews, and now Josh King are reserves for the two central defenders. Perhaps we have over invested in this department. It remains to be seen if these reserves are improvements on Trowler and McIntyre. The mid field remains our problem. Potts has been replaced by either Swift or LeRoux -or perhaps Pack when fit. Playing as NO 6 Swift is very similar to Pack. it has been speculated that Swift's better position is number 10 but there is now much competition for that place. Overall I do not feel our mid field options have improved despite it being an area I had hoped we would strengthen. The first good news about the forwards is clearly that we have managed to keep Bishop and Murphy. The reserves for the striker position are Waddington and Kirk. I agree that Yengi, when injury free, was not up to championship standard last season. The jury is out on whether or not Waddington and kirk are an improvement on Yengi. No 10 has been a problem for us for some time - particularly when lang has been injured. Now we may have over invested in the position with Segecic , Swift,and KOsznovzky, coming in before Chaplin's late entry. From what I have seen of Chaplin while with Ipswich he has appeared to have made the transition from a twin striker to a No 10. I would see him as more likely to make a telling pass than Segecic and is likely therefore to be first choice, This will leave Segecic and Lang, when fit, competing for the right wing position. If this is the case we will have four forwards - all with goals in them! This leaves several wingers in reserve. We have seen a little of Bianchni and Yang. Yang looks as if he would prefer the left wing. Blair is coming back from injury. It looks like Umeh will now leap frog this group. So we have a considerable depth in wingers to call on In Summary: Back five all last seasons players. Strengthening was not required. Good reserves also available. Mid field - Not looking substantially stronger. Forewords - looking much stronger. However, we have a lot of young players that seem unlikely to play much football unless we have a lot of injuries. Matthews, Waddington, Blair, and Kosznovzky are good prospects but have been pushed down the pecking order.
Pompey Academy defender Beau Mullins has joined local non league club Baffins Rovers FC on loan. please log in to view this image
