Alfie Gilchrist to Portsmouth transfer truth emerges after West Brom exit talk swirls | OneFootball

An update has emerged over Pompey’s pursuit of defender Alfie Gilchrist.

Portsmouth will be hopeful of moving up the Championship table as they consolidated a third straight season in the second tier.

Pompey, led by John Mousinho, secured an 18th-placed finish last term to remain in the Championship once again, but will now be looking to build on achieving safety over the last two campaigns and get themselves involved in the promotion mix.

To do this, the South Coast outfit will have to be busy during the summer transfer window, adding quality additions in many departments in order to leave them well-equipped enough to once again take on the 46-game slog of a season.

So far, Portsmouth have made three additions, with Odin Bailey arriving on a free transfer from Stockport County, young forward Eoin Kenny linking up from Dundalk FC, while midfielder Rocco Shein has joined permanently from Norwegian outfit Fredrikstad FK.

Recently, Portsmouth have been linked with bolstering their backline too, in particular at full-back, with a report from Sky Sports claiming both Portsmouth and Blackburn Rovers were interested in a loan move for West Brom defender Alfie Gilchrist.

The former Sheffield United man could be allowed to depart The Hawthorns given he desperately struggled for game time, with the 22-year-old featuring just 13 times throughout the 2025-26 campaign.

But an update has recently emerged about Pompey’s pursuit of Gilchrist, which is also bound to interest those connected to Blackburn.

Portsmouth ruled out of Alfie Gilchrist race

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It hasn’t taken long for the pendulum to swing in the race for Alfie Gilchrist, with BBC South TV and Radio Sports Reporter Andrew Moon delivering an update on Pompey’s pursuit of the West Brom man.

Taking to his X account, Moon has stated Portsmouth are now not in the race to sign the versatile defender, despite the report made by Sky Sports yesterday evening.

This transfer update may well come to a shock to some Portsmouth supporters, with the potential signing of Gilchrist bound to have generated some optimism at Fratton Park due to his previous connections to Chelsea and impressive Championship spell at Bramall Lane with Sheffield United.

But now Pompey will be moving on to pursue other targets, with Mousinho clearly not in favour of adding the 22-year-old to his ranks ahead of next season.

While it appeared from the outset that it would be a two-team tussle to land Alfie Gilchrist on loan, Portsmouth’s withdrawal leaves Blackburn Rovers firmly in the driving seat to wrap up a deal.

Gilchrist can still be a dependable asset at Championship level despite his recent woes at West Brom, with his versatility a massive plus point over the course of such a relentless season, with Gilchrist able to play across the back four, featuring for Albion at right and left-back, as well as in the centre of defence.

While it hasn’t been revealed as to why Pompey are not in the race for Gilchrist, it will be disappointing for some supporters to learn about this, particularly when Portsmouth may well need further additions in the right-back department should the highly-rated Terry Devlin be sold.

That would leave Zak Swanson and Jordan Williams as John Mousinho’s only other options, so bringing in someone of Gilchrist’s calibre would have been very handy.

But it’s a deal that is now unlikely to happen, with Portsmouth eyeing up alternative targets who can offer a better service than what Gilchrist could have.