3 players who should follow Abu Kamara to Portsmouth ft Crystal Palace man | OneFootball

We have taken a look at three signings that Portsmouth should make after the signing of Abu Kamara.

Portsmouth are heading into the Championship on the back of continuing to spread their wings in the summer transfer window, both in terms of their financial outlay and the breadth of their scouting network.

Having won the 2023-24 League One title, Pompey have steadily established themselves back in the Championship but now is perhaps the time for the club to kick on under the management of John Mousinho.

Ever since gaining promotion back to the second-tier, their approach in the market has been varied with plenty of domestic-based signings, often on free transfers, youngsters brought in and plenty of signings from overseas.

That has continued this summer but there has also been a shift with the amount of money spent, most notably the £5.1 million reportedly shelled out for forward Marko Milovanovic from Almeria and the £2.1 million spent on Estonia international midfielder Rocco Shein.

There are expected to be a few outgoings this summer with Portsmouth now possessing an extremely deep squad but we have still identified three players who would further strengthen them moving forwards.

Jordi Osei-Tutu

At full-back, Portsmouth do have plenty of options with John Mousinho having converted Northern Irishman Terry Devlin into a utility player for that position as well as having Zak Swanson at right-back with the versatile Connor Ogilvie and out and out left-back Jacob Farrell for the left-side, albeit Devlin started there in their 3-1 loss to West Ham United in the first round of the EFL Cup.

Finding a specialist full-back who can play on both sides may well be a priority for Pompey before the close of the window and given their options, it is perhaps an area they can take a gamble on, with Jordi Osei-Tutu a solid addition.

Osei-Tutu was instrumental in Bolton Wanderers’ promotion via the League One play-offs last season and it left many surprised when it was announced he would depart the club at the end of his contract.

The former Bochum man does have issues with persistent injuries but he overcame them in the latter stages of his Bolton career and looks to be a player that a Championship club should take a gamble on for their squad, especially with his ability to also play at wing-back or even on the wing.

Pompey have balanced their worldwide recruitment with free transfers from the EFL, even continuing that this summer with the signing of Odin Bailey from Stockport County, and he would not be a massively surprising signing for Pompey to make this summer.

Jesurun Rak-Sakyi

Josh Murphy regaining full fitness and therefore his best form as well as the £2.5 million signing of Abu Kamara will strengthen Portsmouth’s wide positions and they have plenty of other versatile players that can play out-wide, too, such as Devlin, fairly untried youngster Franco Umeh, another of those free transfers from the EFL Keshi Anderson and Bailey – but there is surely still room for more.

Devlin is now more of a full-back with Umeh having only ever made one Championship appearance since joining last year, while Anderson and Bailey are good squad players but may not be players to rely upon for consistent productivity week in and week out.

As a result, finding another winger to provide creativity and goals to support Murphy and Kamara, both of whom head into the season with question marks surrounding what level they will able to regularly at, is key.

Jesurun Rak-Sakyi would be an ambitious signing but he has largely stalled in his overall development since a stellar 2022-23 season on loan at Charlton Athletic in League One.

Even despite some promising performances while on loan at Sheffield United as they reached the play-off final in the 2024-25 campaign, Rak-Sakyi has again failed to properly kick on, showing glimpses of quality while with Stoke City at the back end of last season after a disappointing stint with Caykur Rizespor.

Still at Crystal Palace, Rak-Sakyi will surely depart Selhurst Park this summer and the Ghana international’s stock having fallen in the last couple of years may well be ideal for Pompey to pounce in order to provide support out-wide and in attack for Mousinho’s men.

Max Dean

Another somewhat opportunistic move but one that would certainly fit with their model of signing young and often from abroad would be bringing Max Dean back to English football from Gent.

It had been reported that Bolton were set to sign Dean and he was due for a medical with The Trotters but complications have left that deal teetering and it would be worthwhile for Portsmouth, with their bigger budget, to swoop in.

Portsmouth boast a strike force that includes Colby Bishop, new signings Milovanovic and Luke Brooke-Smith, as well as Thomas Waddingham.

However, while still effective with his hold up play, Bishop struggled for goals with just three in 42 appearances in the Championship last season while Brooke-Smith is another punt from the Australian A-League, alongside a few others, like Waddingham, who have underwhelmed since moving to Fratton Park.

Milovanovic, at 6 ft 4 in, is perhaps the deluxe replacement for Bishop as a target man-like player, while the profile of a nippy sharp shooter to play off him remains up for grabs – and something that Dean would be able to fulfil.

After scoring 15 goals in 29 appearances for Milton Keynes Dons in League Two a couple of years ago, Belgian side Gent poached the young Englishman and his scoring rate has remained relatively strong at a higher level in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League.

Now on the periphery of things at a Gent side competing in UEFA Europa Conference League qualification this month, Dean looks eager to return to England and his signing may well be a smart one for Pompey to make.