Portsmouth FC should strike transfer revenge for Cardiff City ace as exit warnings emerge | OneFootball

Circumstances mean Portsmouth may well get another chance at landing the Manchester City academy graduate

Portsmouth may now have the ideal opportunity to former transfer target and loan star Alex Robertson.

The 22-year-old spent the 2023/24 League One season on loan with Pompey, becoming a first-team regular as they earned promotion.

However, the young midfielder joined Championship rivals Cardiff City in summer 2024 rather than make that temporary stint permanent.

Now, the stars have aligned; another Pompey approach makes a lot of sense.

A difficult season for Cardiff despite Robertson showings

The Welsh side landed Robertson last summer, beating Portsmouth to the signing in the process.

He performed well for the Bluebirds, notching three goals and providing three assists from midfield, in a total of 35 Championship appearances.

But that wasn’t enough to save Cardiff; they were relegated, finishing rock bottom of the Championship.

That demotion will see Robertson’s current club needing to readjust their finances and bring in extra funds to account for lost revenue.

There’s little doubt that Robertson, a young Manchester City academy graduate and former international with almost a full Championship season under his belt, who signed a four-year contract last year, will be one of Cardiff’s most saleable assets.

Robertson leaving Cardiff seems a real possibility

With that financial picture in mind, Sky Sports pundit David Prutton suggested recently in a Football League World exclusive that he believes Robertson will be “highly coveted” this summer.

From the player’s point of view also, having proved he’s more than capable of operating in the Championship, he’s unlikely to want to drop back down at this early stage of his career.

That was a point backed up by our Cardiff Fan Pundit, Matt, who predicts Robertson to be one of a number of prized assets at risk of being sold this summer.

Should that be the case, Portsmouth would surely be once again near the front of the queue.

Portsmouth could step in and finally land Robertson

Those at Pompey know all about what they’d be getting from Robertson from his loan spell, so there’d be no need for any scouting.

Portsmouth CEO Andy Cullen revealed last year just how disappointed he was to miss out on Robertson.

"Alex chose, as is his prerogative, that he wanted to go to Cardiff," Cullen revealed to Portsmouth News. "That’s absolutely fine, though it was to our disappointment."

It seems clear that Pompey felt slightly burnt by his decision, but for a top player, they’d likely be able to put those personal feelings to one side.

Although his season in the Championship will make him slightly more expensive than last year – the Bluebirds agreed a deal worth up to £3m last year – the relegation puts Cardiff in a weaker negotiating position and therefore may mean the price isn’t too inflated, which should attract Portsmouth even more.

Cardiff’s relegation gives Portsmouth the best opportunity to go back in and secure Robertson, offering him a familiar environment and Championship football.

Pompey were understandably gutted to miss out on the midfielder last summer after they had done so much for his transition into the senior game, but everything may just have fallen into place to make Portsmouth’s dream move a reality.