Portsmouth unlikely to offload player amid transfer interest | OneFootball

Portsmouth’s Daniel Gifford is gaining interest from National League clubs this summer, with a loan deal potentially on the cards for the player.

However, Pompey are unlikely to let go of the player yet as reported by The News, with the side struggling for options in attack.

The Fratton Park outfit managed to battle in the top half of League One again last season but they just couldn’t quite find that little bit extra to push them into the play-off spots. Danny Cowley instead had to settle for tenth place and will want to better than finish in the next campaign.

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However, to do so, he will need more options in his forward line – and right now, he has very little in that area of the field. With plenty of players having left the side, they’ve been left very limited in attack – so much so that, according to The News, they may have to turn to Gifford to play for them in friendlies and during their pre-season camp.

That’s despite the 18-year-old having yet to play in a single league game for Portsmouth so far. It shows the situation that Cowley currently has on his hands at Fratton Park.

That will be a blow to plenty of National League outfits, who are all keen to try and snap the youngster up on a loan deal this offseason. It would give him some much needed experience and Pompey would likely relish the chance to send him out elsewhere to help his development – but as for now, it looks like he will stay at Fratton Park.

The Verdict

Daniel Gifford would definitely be best served spending the season out on loan because come the start of the League One campaign, he would be very unlikely to get minutes.

The only reason he is in the frame right now is because of their current striker situation. With not many named forwards on their books, Cowley really needs to start bringing in some faces as teams begin to build up towards pre-season and their training camps.

If you don’t have the players that you want in at a club by pre-season, it leaves you then needing to integrate new players into the club later on in the summer, which can sometimes be a hindrance and can alter plans. Portsmouth then need to get a move on with doing their striker business.

Once that has been sorted, Gifford is free to go and get some proper gametime of his own – something that will be hugely beneficial to him in the long run.