"I struggle to see" - Claim made on Abdoulaye Kamara's situation at Portsmouth FC | OneFootball

The decision to keep the former Borussia Dortmund player at the club this winter has raised a few eyebrows

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

With the winter transfer window done and dusted, teams in the EFL can finally take stock and prepare for the remainder of the season, with the business end of the campaign about to get into full swing.

There were plenty of players in and out the door at Fratton Park as John Mousinho tinkered with his Portsmouth side during January, with eight arrivals and seven departures seeing a massive shake up on the south coast, as the current League One Champions look to avoid an immediate return to the third tier.

Summer arrival Elias Sorensen sealed a switch to Valerenga, while Will Norris, Ben Stevenson and Owen Moxon all made permanent moves to League One sides, having seen their time with Pompey come to an end.

Tom McIntyre, Anthony Scully and Tom Lowery all left the club on loan for the remainder of the season, but for Football League World’s Portsmouth fan pundit Miltos Ioannidis, it is one player that they decided to keep hold of that has puzzled him the most.

Abdoulaye Kamara stays at Portsmouth through January transfer window

Just like in the winter transfer window, Pompey were one of the busiest sides last summer after earning promotion to the Championship, with as many as 15 players coming through the door before the transfer deadline passed.

Mousinho was keen to add quality to his ranks, and the player that came with the highest price tag was Abdoulaye Kamara, with the teenage talent joining for a reported fee of £1.4 million.

The 19-year-old signed a four-year deal with the club, and although he was seen as a player for the future, many at Fratton Park would have expected to see more than just five brief cameos this season, and just 124 minutes of league action under his belt.

With that in mind, Ioannidis is of the opinion that his club should have sent the player out on loan for the remainder of the campaign, and give him the chance to prove what he can do at a lower level.

When asked which player he thought would have left in the January transfer window, the Pompey fan said: “I think that player is Abdoulaye Kamara, and that is because at the moment I struggle to see exactly what the plan is with him.

“You have a situation where Kamara is obviously a very talented player, we brought him in from Dortmund in the summer with the intention of him developing and turning into a good player and an asset for us.

“But I think it has become apparent over the few appearances that he has made that maybe he is not quite up to the level yet, I don’t know if it is fitness, because he came to the club with a very considerable injury record.

“I don’t know if it is anything else, but he has had very few appearances with us, and in the games that he has played he looks a bit off the pace and looks like he needs more game time under his belt to gain more experience and be able to compete at the highest level.

“So I really thought he would be one of the first players to seek a loan move out of the club in January - that didn’t happen - and with the arrival of Isaac Hayden and the midfield options that we already have got, I struggle to see how Abdoulaye Kamara will get any game time this season.”

Portsmouth must have Abdoulaye Kamara injury concerns

With the added personnel in the middle of the park, it is hard to see where Kamara fits into Mousinho’s plans for the rest of the campaign, with game time likely to be even more limited due to the arrival of Hayden from Newcastle United.

Therefore, the decision to keep him at Fratton Park will be questioned by some supporters, with the teenager needing minutes under his belt to prove his abilities, rather than waiting in vain for his chance on the substitutes’ bench week after week.

Having already had issues with an ankle MCL and toe during his fledgling career, there is likely to be concerns over Kamara’s fitness, and the decision to keep him at the club could have harboured on the hope of keeping him fit and fresh for as long as possible at this stage in his career.

With the hefty price tag on his head, there is likely to be plenty expected of the player in the coming years, and Ioannidis can’t be the only one debating when they are going to see the best of the midfielder in action.

He continued: “Kamara is very much at the bottom of the pecking order in terms of our midfielders, so it is difficult to see what the plan is with him.

“He is one player where I am wondering what the development plan is, because I am certain he is a very talented youngster. We wouldn’t have brought him in without the intention of developing over time.

“We knew he wasn’t going to have an impact straight off like some other players have done, because of his injury record and the fact he hasn’t played much men’s football before, but he is certainly a player that makes me wonder a little bit.”