Portsmouth and Everton plotting Man City transfer move | OneFootball

The young midfielder starred for Pompey last season before picking up a season-ending hamstring injury in January.

Portsmouth and Everton are among a number of Premier League and Championship clubs chasing the signature of Manchester City's Alex Robertson, per FTBL.

The 21-year-old midfielder spent the 2023/24 season on loan with Pompey, as he helped guide the club to the League One title and Championship promotion.

However, his time on the field was limited to the first half of the season, after suffering a hamstring injury during a training session just after the turn of the new year, keeping him out for the remainder of the season.

But with the Australian expected to be fully fit and ready to go for the start of the 2024/25 season, his impressive spell with Portsmouth hasn't been forgotten by clubs across English football, and he could be set for a move away from the Premier League champions this summer.

According to a report from Australian news outlet FTBL, Portsmouth and Everton are credited alongside numerous other unnamed Championship and Premier League clubs interested in signing Robertson this summer.

They state that the youngsters future is likely to be determined in the coming weeks, and that a permanent exit from Manchester City looks the more likely outcome.

Speaking in an interview via FTBL, Australian national team assistant Rene Muelensteen is quoted saying: “We’re blessed with some top midfield talent and in Alex’s case he’s probably best suited in an advanced role.

“He was excellent at Portsmouth before his injury and has a lot of football ahead of him. We’re very keen to see how he goes next season - it’s important he starts well. Whether that’s at Portsmouth or elsewhere and of course we’re always watching very closely.

“You don’t spend several years on the books at Manchester City, and train with the first team and make the bench on a few occasions without having some excellent qualities."

First appearing for the Citizens' academy in the 2019/20 season, Robertson quickly began making a name for himself as one of the brighter prospects in English football, and even made The Guardian's 2020 'Next Generation' list as one of the top 60 best young players in world football.

After continuing to impress in City's academy ranks, Robertson was granted his first taste of senior football in the 2021/22 season, as he made a short loan move to Scottish Premiership side Ross County.

But after only making five appearances with zero goals or assists, he returned to Manchester to continue his development in youth football. The time was then deemed to be right at the start of last season to send the former England youth international back out on loan, this time to Pompey.

It was there that he proved he was ready to truly begin his career in senior football, as his one goal and four assists before his injury setback were accompanied by consistently impressive performances.

As FTBL report, Premier League club's such as Everton are circling Robertson this summer, in what could deal a significant blow to Portsmouth's chances of resigning their loan star.

Whilst seeing the Australian international make a top-flight move would be disappointing for Pompey fans, they shouldn't see that as an all hope of witnessing him wear the famous blue shirt again being lost scenario.

Even if Robertson does sign for a top-flight club such as the Toffees, the likelihood would be that he would not go straight into the starting XI, with a substitute role at best during his first season being the more realistic expectation.

Therefore, there's every chance that the plan would be to win his signature, before loaning him out once again to ensure he builds on his good progress from last season, and keeps getting regular football under his belt.

As such, Portsmouth should be ringing whichever Premier League club's phone off the hook in that scenario, and putting themselves at the front of the queue to take him back for another season.

But after letting it be known how much he enjoyed his time at Fratton Park, Portsmouth should feel confident that they can win his signature this summer.