The young Ipswich Town midfielder and former Wycombe loanee who Portsmouth should turn to following Freddie Potts’ return to West Ham
Freddie Potts’ Pompey loan stint proved a huge success.
A key player in the Blues’ midfield for 37 of their 46 Championship games, the cultured West Ham player was a Rolls Royce in the engine room as John Mousinho’s troops defied early season odds to secure their second-tier safety with two games to spare.
His impact at Fratton Park prompted the Hammers to hand the talented 21-year-old a new long-term contract at the London Stadium.
His form and growing maturity during his second loan away from his boyhood club also caused West Ham boss Graham Potter to admit Potts will be given his chance to compete for a first-team place next season in pre-season.
That came as a blow to Pompey, who were keen to strike another deal with the Hammers that would see the midfielder return to the south coast on another temporary basis.
It still could happen, you never know in football. But the Blues cannot afford to sit around and wait, contingency plans must be in place and alternatives lined up.
Pompey will definitely be in the hunt for midfield reinforcements this summer, with fellow loanee Isaac Hayden also gone. They’ll also be keen to utilise the loan market once more and replicate the success they had with Potts, who enjoyed a profitable loan at League One Wycombe Wanderers last year.
That 43-game spell proved crucial for his development and confidence, and allowed him to adjust to the rigours of senior football.
And it seems the Blues might not have to look beyond the parameters of Adams Park again this summer in order to find an equally exciting gem to welcome to Fratton Park on a short-term deal.
To subscribe to The Portsmouth News’ Pompey coverage and more click here
Cameron Humphrey is a player Pompey must consider
Twenty-one-year-old Cameron Humphreys arrived at Wycombe from Ipswich Town last August needing game time to supplement his undoubted quality.
The Colchester-born midfielder had come through the youth ranks at Portman Road and had already broken into Kieran McKenna’s first-team ranks as he assisted in their back-to-back promotions to the Premier League.
Thirty-nine games, in fact, had been recorded as he forged a career in the Tractor Boys’ senior ranks. But there was a risk his development would be stifled with fewer opportunities provided in the top flight.
Up stepped then-Chairboys boss Matt Bloomfield, therefore, to offer a temporary home – and, oh, how all parties benefitted.
While Wycombe proved to be League One’s surprise package last season as they secured a play-off spot, Humphrey’s established himself as a mainstay of that promotion push and a crucial cog in the Wanderers machine.
