Portsmouth chances of signing ex-Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford revealed - Middlesbrough and Wrexham were linked | OneFootball

Portsmouth manager John Mousinho has reacted to speculation linking the club with former Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford.

Portsmouth manager John Mousinho has shut down speculation linking his side with a move for former Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford.

It has been an inconsistent start to the season for Portsmouth, with Mousinho's men currently sitting in 14th place after picking up 12 points from their first nine league games, and they are the joint third-lowest scorers in the Championship having netted just eight league goals so far this campaign.

Pompey have left one space open in their 25-man squad, which fuelled speculation that they could look to bolster their attacking ranks with the signing of a free agent, particularly with the likes of Franco Umeh and Callum Lang sidelined, and they have been credited with an interest in Bamford after his departure from Leeds.

Bamford scored 60 goals in 205 games during a successful seven-year spell at Elland Road, but he failed to get on the scoresheet during the Whites' title-winning campaign last season, and after manager Daniel Farke publicly confirmed that he would not be part of his plans in the Premier League, his contract was cancelled by mutual consent in late August.

The 32-year-old revealed on social media that he was feeling "raw" about his Leeds exit due to "the way it has come to an end and the way things have been handled recently", and just under two months on from leaving the West Yorkshire outfit, he remains without a club.

Portsmouth's Championship rivals Middlesbrough and Wrexham have also been linked with Bamford, along with La Liga side Getafe, but after Mousinho addressed the rumours on Wednesday, it seems Fratton Park will not be his next destination.

John Mousinho breaks silence on Patrick Bamford, Portsmouth talk

Portsmouth have signed free agents in each of the last two seasons, with midfielder Lee Evans and defender Alex Milosevic arriving outside of the transfer window, but Mousinho emphatically denied speculation that the club are targeting a move for Bamford.

"There’s nothing in that at all, I don’t know where that’s come from at all," Mousinho told The News.

While Pompey have been known to dip into the free agent market in recent times, Mousinho admitted that he has reservations about bringing in players who have not been training with a club, particularly as the January transfer window will be open by the time they get fully up to speed.

"If we sign a free agent it will be purely reactive, we are happy with where we are at the moment. If we were to pick up three or four injuries than we would maybe look to react," Mousinho explained.

"In terms of the squad as a whole, we’re leaving players out of the squad at the moment.

"The one area we’re probably light on at the minute is out wide, with our pacier and more powerful players. We’ve got Josh Murphy and Harvey Blair just coming back from injury.

"Franco (Umeh) and Callum (Lang) are both out, who are right at the top end in terms of explosiveness, pace and power. But we’re not looking to go and replace them in the short term, because they will all be back pretty soon.

"It’s always tough picking up players on a free anyway, because it takes time to adjust.

"We brought Alex Milosevic in last season and he had a big impact around the place, but he never set foot on the football pitch.

"We would have made the same decision because of the influence he had, but he couldn’t quite get up to scratch and ended up tearing his calf. Lee Evans had a good impact, but took a while to get going after that injury.

"A lot of times players who are out of contract and aren’t training with clubs, it can be very difficult to get them up to scratch - and by the time you do the January transfer window is here."

Portsmouth may have dodged transfer bullet after Patrick Bamford reveal

With talisman Colby Bishop struggling for form, Portsmouth have been short on goals so far this season, so a striker of Bamford's calibre could have added significant firepower to Mousinho's squad.

However, while Bamford has had a strong track record at Championship level over the years, his last goal came all the way back in April 2024 in Leeds' victory at Middlesbrough, so Pompey would not be getting a player in good form, and it may take him time to get back to his best.

In addition to that, Bamford was estimated to be on £70,000-a-week last season at Leeds, according to Capology, and while he would likely have had to take a big pay cut if he was to make the move to Fratton Park, he could have proven to be an expensive transfer mistake if he did not deliver the goals for Portsmouth, so they are right to avoid taking a gamble on him.