Portsmouth player set for January transfer after making 'intentions clear' | OneFootball

Harvey Blair looks to have played his final game for Portsmouth, as the 22-year-old makes his intentions to leave clear

The 23-year-old has struggled to earn regular minutes at Fratton Park since arriving from the academy of the Premier League giants ahead of their Championship return in the summer of 2024.

Overall, he's made 29 appearances for Pompey, with his one goal coming in April 2025 against Sheffield Wednesday in one of his few starts for the South Coast side.

After making just one substitute appearance this season against Bristol City and featuring in only one other matchday squad, it surprised few Portsmouth fans that Blair wasn't included in the 25-man EFL squad, despite three vacancies.

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Portsmouth were looking to offload Blair this summer, with the 23-year-old making it clear that he felt his future lay elsewhere. He did attract some interest from Polish side Widzew Lodz in the final hours of their transfer window, but nothing came of it.

Therefore, the former Liverpool academy man remains a Pompey player, but sporting director Richard Hughes doesn't see a world where Blair gets reinstated into their EFL squad anytime soon.

"Harvey is outside the squad list at the moment, he’s been doing some training after having had some sickness and illness," Hughes told The News. "He made his intentions clear that he wanted to leave the club in the summer window.

"He wanted regular first-team football, and we were happy to facilitate a move, but, for reasons probably not for disclosure, the deals didn't happen due to other complications at ends away from us, through no fault of this football club."

Despite the vacancies in their 25-man EFL squad, head coach John Mousinho is likely to give those spots to Josh Murphy, Connor Ogilvie and Keshi Anderson once they prove their fitness after spending time on the sidelines, rather than Blair, who is currently training with the hope to secure a move elsewhere in January.

"We cut our cloth accordingly to ensure our 25-man squad was our 25," Hughes continued. "So, with Harvey still being here, if he trains and keeps his levels high then he’s in a position that, should there be takers in January, he can go and kick on at potentially another club.

"I expect him to stay until January, but, unless anything drastic changes, I wouldn't expect to see him in a Pompey shirt between now and January."

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Blair didn't get much time on the pitch to endear himself to the Portsmouth fanbase, but in the short time he did, it seems he didn't make the best first impression, given the general response to Richard Hughes' comments online.

Pompey fans weren't holding back on X in the replies to The News' post relaying the article. "Thank god. Bloke looks like he’d won a competition to play at this level," one fan said. "Thank the Lord. Possibly the worst I’ve ever seen to pull on a blue shirt," commented another.

One fan stated, bluntly, "Good," while another felt Blair was no better than League Two-level and expressed frustration at his lack of availability, saying, "Good stuff. Never showed it in a Pompey shirt, always ‘injured ’. Honestly think Mous had enough of him being dramatic not playing through the pain barrier. He’ll do well in League Two. That’s all he is."

There was some remorse shown towards Blair in the comments, such as one which read, "Replies are as expected, but I feel for him," but ultimately, that represents a minority opinion amongst the fanbase.

Harvey Blair never realised his potential from his time at Liverpool in the Championship

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Blair's youth career reads very impressively, having spent time at Manchester United before he joined Liverpool later on.

With the Reds, he was a prolific goalscorer at Under-18 level, netting 10 and assisting five in 16 U18 Premier League outings back in 2021/22. It was those performances which encouraged Jurgen Klopp to hand him his professional debut in an EFL Cup clash with Preston North End that season, too.

At , though, he could never get going. Whether it was due to consistent injury issues or otherwise, he wasn't favoured by Pompey boss John Mousinho.

Blair only cost £300,000 a couple of years ago, so he won't go down as one of the worst signings in Pompey's history, but as and when he does leave the club in January, there'll be plenty of intrigue about whether he can finally kick on elsewhere.