"Too good of a prospect" - Norwich City face big decision on Portsmouth target | OneFootball

The Pompey faithful want to see the winger back in blue next season.

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

It's not out of the question that Norwich City's Abu Kamara could return to Portsmouth this summer, following his scintillating temporary spell with the club last time out when he helped them to win League One.

The decision by Norwich to sack David Wagner and bring in Johannes Hoff Thorup as their new manager has had a ripple effect that will hit Pompey and others.

Had the German kept his job following their play-off semi-final loss, both he and his Portsmouth counterpart, John Mousinho, may have had quite a clear understanding of the plans for the 20-year-old winger, and whether a return to Fratton Park would be possible.

But the new Danish coach will want to assess all the players at his disposal, and so there's uncertainty as to what Kamara's role at Carrow Road could be.

Mousinho hasn't ruled out the possibility of the England under-20 star returning to the South Coast, as per the Portsmouth News, and added that the club will be ready to pounce if he is made available.

But should the Canaries let him leave? Would Thorup allowing the talented youngster to join a league rival be a mistake, or would it allow Kamara to continue his growth as a player? Some of the FLW writers have had their say on the matter...

Adam Tiffen

Kamara's time with Pompey last season absolutely proved that he needs to play Championship football. He didn't produce at a consistent rate, but he turned it on at the business end of the season and was one of the most impressive Pompey players during that period.

Any player that provides just shy of 20 goal contributions in the third tier deserves a crack at seeing whether they can continue to flourish at the level above. Luckily for the winger, he should get that opportunity no matter what happens. But to what extent?

At Fratton Park, under Mousinho, Kamara would be a central element of the team, figuratively. I have doubts over whether that'd be the case at Norwich.

You don't challenge for the play-offs if you haven't got some quality footballers, and the position at which the Canaries are most loaded is probably their creative midfielders/wide forwards. Gabriel Sara, Borja Sainz, Jonathan Rowe, Christian Fassnacht; these are all second-tier proven talents.

Now, Kamara may come into pre-season and show them all up, impressing the new boss to the point where he has no choice but to include him in a big way in his plans. That isn't the safest bet though.

What is for sure is that the 20-year-old is a top talent, and Norwich know first-hand, because of Rowe, the effect that a young, effervescent wide player can have on your fortunes.

If I was Thorup, I would keep Kamara around until at least January. He's got the skill set of a player that could make a real impact on the team. If it gets to the winter and he's not playing much, then you can send him to a team like Pompey. But the signs so far suggest that he's too good of a prospect to let him go to a league rival right now.

Ned Holmes

It all depends on whether Thorup plans to use the 20-year-old in 2024/25.

Kamara's sparkling performances in the second half of last season showed just what an exciting talent he is and that he's ready for the challenge of Championship football.

Ideally, he will get that at Carrow Road in the upcoming campaign. The Dane will surely look at the impact that Rowe had under his predecessor last season and try to find a place for Kamara in his plans for the upcoming campaign.

But in Rowe, Sara, Sainz, Fassnacht, and Onel Hernandez, he already has strong options on the flanks while he may look to the transfer market to add more weapons this summer as he looks to shape his squad.

If the minutes aren't going to be there for Kamara in a Norwich shirt this season, then loaning him out to a club trying to establish themselves in the second tier, like Portsmouth, and one where he is clearly loved and feels comfortable, would be the smartest plan of action.

The quality Kamara showed last season suggests that Thorup should be able to find a place for him in his squad, even if just as a game-changer off the bench.

But ultimately, the new Norwich coach needs time to assess his squad and work out where the Pompey target sits in the pecking order.