Portsmouth's Norwich City transfer hopes now feel dead in the water: View | OneFootball

Portsmouth will be counting down the days until the new season gets underway, as they are once again a Championship team.

The South Coast side endured an excellent 2023/24 season, so optimism will be high heading into the new season, even though they are in a league above.

One player who was a key part of their promotion success was Norwich City loanee Abu Kamara, as he scored eight goals and chipped in with 10 assists in 46 league games.

John Mousinho would have been hoping to have the player back in his side again next season, but those chances could now be all but over, given the Canaries will be remaining in the Championship next season.

Norwich City failed to get past Leeds United in play-offs

Despite making a very disappointing start to the season, Norwich City stuck with David Wagner, and their faith was repaid as the German managed to get their season back on track.

Norwich became an impressive side in the Championship, with their form really picking up in the second half of the season.

So much so, they secured a place in this season’s play-offs, but finishing in sixth place meant they had a mountain to climb, as they faced third-place Leeds United in two legs.

The Canaries held their own in the first leg and secured a decent 0-0 draw against the Yorkshire side, but the advantage was Leeds’, given they were home in the second leg.

It was always going to be tough for Norwich heading to Elland Road, but not many fans would have expected it to turn out the way it did, as Leeds eased to victory in style as they won 4-0.

Defeat means that Norwich now remain in the Championship once again, and the result has meant Wagner is no longer Norwich manager.

So, while there will be a lot of soul-searching going on at the club and a new manager will be brought in, failure to secure promotion could also have a big impact on Portsmouth and their pursuit of Kamara.

Portsmouth’s chances of signing Abu Kamara seem over

John Mousinho will be looking to strengthen his Portsmouth side this summer, but he will not want to bring in just any type of players.

The Pompey boss will be keen to bring in players who he knows can improve his squad and, therefore, make them better.

Mousinho already knows what Abu Kamara can do, as the winger was with the League One side all this season, and he would likely be keen to re-sign the player once again this summer.

As mentioned, this is because the 20-year-old played in every league game this season, starting 37 and averaging 71 minutes on the pitch per game. His performances even got noticed by Sofascore on numerous occasions.

In those games, Kamara chipped in with eight goals, which was a decent return given he was averaging 1.3 shots on goal, but only 0.4 were on target.

The attacker could have easily added to those eight goals, as he missed 10 big chances. But he did make up for it, as he created eight big chances for his teammates, and that helped him grab his 10 assists in the league, as per Sofascore.com.

It is very clear why Mousinho would be keen to bring Kamara back to Fratton Park, as he excelled in their side. Their chances of bringing him back would have been strong if Norwich City were in the Premier League, but given they are going to be in the same league as them next season, it seems unlikely the Canaries will allow him to leave to join Portsmouth.

In fact, Norwich and whoever the new manager is going to be may see it as an opportunity to give the 20-year-old a chance at Carrow Road, especially if Jonathan Rowe departs over the summer.

Mousinho and Portsmouth fans will have been cheering Norwich on Thursday night, so to see them crumble the way they did will probably have disappointed them as well as the Norwich fans.

Pompey may still try to persuade Norwich to let Kamara leave on loan next season, but it seems highly unlikely, and therefore, the club may need to start looking at alternative targets.