Opinion: Portsmouth ought to avoid being dragged into transfer battle for 23-year-old | OneFootball

With the transfer window set to close at the start of September, it will be intriguing to see whether Portsmouth opt to engage in any further transfer activity in the coming weeks.

Pompey head coach Danny Cowley has already bolstered his squad this summer by signing 11 players.

In terms of his attacking options, Cowley is now able to turn to Colby Bishop, Dane Scarlett, Owen Dale and Joe Pigott for inspiration after securing the services of this quartet.

Despite the arrival of these aforementioned individuals, Portsmouth are still being linked with moves for players.

Ahead of Saturday’s showdown with Bristol Rovers, Pompey have been touted as a potential suitor for Harvey Knibbs.

According to The News, Cowley is understood to be keeping a close eye on Knibbs’ current situation at Cambridge United.

Fellow U’s player Shilow Tracey is also believed to be on Portsmouth’s radar.

If Portsmouth are indeed interested in signing Knibbs, they will face competition for his signature from Milton Keynes Dons.

According to The Athletic, the Dons have already had an offer for Knibbs rejected by Cambridge.

With the U’s seemingly in no rush to sell the 23-year-old, there is a strong possibility that Pompey will be dragged into a bidding war with MK Dons if they step up this particular pursuit.

In order to avoid paying over the odds for Knibbs, it could be argued that Portsmouth ought to opt against making an offer for him this summer.

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During the previous campaign, the forward only managed to show glimpses of his ability in League One as he struggled with his consistency.

Despite the fact that Knibbs represented Cambridge on 34 occasions in the third-tier for Cambridge, he only managed to score four goals as he averaged a WhoScored match rating of 6.53 at this level.

When you consider that Bishop has already matched this particular tally during the current campaign, Knibbs may find it difficult to displace the former Accrington Stanley man in Pompey’s starting eleven.

Although Knibbs is also capable of playing in an attacking midfield role, he is unlikely to be an upgrade on Michael Jacobs and Ronan Curtis who have scored in Portsmouth’s 4-1 win over Cambridge on Tuesday.

For Knibbs’ sake, it could be argued that staying with the U’s for the remainder of the campaign could turn out to be the best option for him as he will have a better chance of featuring regularly at this level for Mark Bonner’s side.