Portsmouth should eye wildcard Birmingham City deal - Lyndon Dykes situation could change | OneFootball

Pompey could do with back-up up front, which could lead them to Birmingham City where Lyndon Dykes could become available later in the window.

Portsmouth have made a relatively decent start to their second campaign back in the Championship, following promotion from League One in 2024.

On opening day, a beautiful finish from Adrian Segecic was enough to earn all three points for Oxford United - although a much-changed side were beaten at home by Reading in the First Round of the Carabao Cup.

And they were to taste defeat at Fratton Park for the second time in a matter of days on Saturday as Norwich City won a dramatic game 2-1, though Pompey recovered well from conceding two early goals and could've counted themselves slightly unlucky to have not got an equaliser at the death.

Colby Bishop has led the line for Pompey throughout the last three seasons, but he sat out the final pre-season friendly against Dutch side PEC Zwolle with a minor knock, which was meant to keep him from featuring in Pompey's first couple of games of the league season.

Meanwhile, young Aussie striker Thomas Waddingham, who is certainly a prospect, perhaps needs just a bit more time to develop fully - which is why Pompey could do with a more experienced frontman to take the pressure off the Blues' number nine. And to start, too, should Bishop not be available.

Pompey should make a move for Lyndon Dykes as Blues eye Aleksandar Mitrovic

If the rumours are to be believed this week, then Birmingham City are after another number nine - ex-Fulham and current Al Hilal striker Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Whilst it would require an astronomical financial effort for Birmingham to pull this off, especially given that Mitrovic is estimated, according to Capology, to be on £414,509 a week in Saudi, it would also represent a ridiculously stacked frontline that Blues have in the Second City.

Despite missing out on Chuba Akpom to Ipswich Town, Blues have brought in highly-rated German international striker Marvin Ducksch from Werder Bremen, adding to an attack that also has Kyogo Furuhashi, Jay Stansfield and the aforementioned Dykes among others.

Therefore, despite him scoring against Blackburn Rovers last week and giving away a penalty on opening night against Ipswich, it may well mean that Dykes could be frozen out at St. Andrew's - and this could be perfect for Pompey to take advantage of.

Lyndon Dykes has Championship goalscoring experience

Putting it bluntly, Dykes knows how to score goals. He scored 37 goals in 165 games at Queens Park Rangers in a four-year spell between 2020 and 2024, whilst he has bagged nine goals in 42 appearances for the Scotland national team.

This offers a much better alternative, and an assurance of goals, than Pompey already have at the club. Waddingham has only netted 16 senior goals and Florian Bianchini scored only three goals in 38 appearances for Swansea City last season.

Marry that in with the fact that Yengi didn't find the back of the net at all last season, with Saydee only scoring three times - which was an August brace against Middlesbrough, followed by a goal against Hull City on the final day when Pompey were already safe.

While Dykes' numbers perhaps don't compare as favourably to Mitrovic or even Bishop, he would know that he would more than likely come in at Fratton Park in order to be second fiddle to the ex-Accrington Stanley man, but would be a useful wildcard option.

Throughout the start of last season, when Bishop was missing as he recovered from heart surgery, Pompey utilised both Christian Saydee and Kusini Yengi in that central berth and neither were prolific, which partly explained John Mousinho's decision to let go of the two fan favourites this summer.

Dykes would provide Pompey with that Championship and international experience - perfect to take Bishop out of the firing line in tougher moments and to help Waddingham grow into a top-class number nine.

It might well be a deal that's to be pulled off at the eleventh hour of the window, given Birmingham will be getting their own transfers sorted before seeing who is surplus to requirements, but it's one worth persisting with for Pompey.

He can be the alternative to the important Bishop and even the perfect foil in those games - like on the weekend - where Portsmouth are throwing the kitchen sink at snatching a result.