Portsmouth’s plan in pursuit of Championship midfielder revealed | OneFootball

Portsmouth are not intending to make an offer to sign Millwall midfielder Ben Thompson in the January transfer window, but could revisit their interest if the are promoted to the Championship this summer, a report from The News has revealed.

Thompson spent the first half of the 2018/19 season on loan at Portsmouth, scoring three goals in 27 appearances in all competitions for the Fratton Park club.

It is thought that Portsmouth have since been keen to bring the midfielder back to the south coast, although Thompson himself has apparently made it clear he does not want to drop down to League One level again.

As a result, this latest update has now revealed that while Portsmouth are keen to add a central midfielder to their ranks in January, Thompson is not set to be targeted next month.

However, it seems that may not be the end of Pompey’s interest in Thompson, with the club said to be confident they will be able to sign him permanently if they win promotion to the Championship.

Kenny Jackett’s side are currently second in the League One table, one point clear of the play-off places, although they have played one game more than those directly below them.

So far this season, Thompson has made 13 Championship appearances for Millwall, although he has only started in five of those games.

The Verdict

I think this is a sensible approach for Portsmouth to take.

If Thompson does not want to make the step down to League One again, then there is little point wasting their time chasing his signature in January, when there is not long to get deals done.

However, given he has not exactly been a regular feature for Millwall this season, you do feel Thompson could be open to a move elsewhere in the Championship going forward, so it could make sense for Portsmouth to reignite their interest if they secure a return to the second tier.