“Left slightly prematurely” - Regrets held over Portsmouth, Wigan Athletic deal | OneFootball

Pompey fans will always wonder what could have been without this transfer

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Clubs in the Football League will always have that one player whose exit always feels as if it came too quickly and Portsmouth are no different.

Having played in all four of the top divisions in relatively recent memory, Pompey have their fair share of players who got away too early.

We asked our Portsmouth fan pundit, Miltos, for the name that springs to mind for him.

He opted for Jamal Lowe, who joined Wigan Athletic in 2019 in a reported £2.5m deal.

Speaking to Football League World, Miltos said: “I think it is a difficult question to answer because we have not had an abundance of players who have been with the club for a long period of time.

“Now we have a squad that has been around for quite some time, but prior to that we kept having squads that kept rebuilding themselves each year in an attempt to try and get promoted to Championship.

"And although some of the members of those squads were good and left Pompey having made an impact, there weren't any that left and you felt as if they had unfinished business with the club or that they left prematurely.

“So if I am to say a player, I will have to go a little bit further back in time, and more specifically after our second year in League One where we sold Jamal Lowe to then newly promoted to the Championship outfit Wigan Athletic.

“Jamal Lowe had been with us for two and a half years, he got promoted from League Two to League One. He was a really good player for us in League One for the period that he stayed there, and you always felt like he had Championship potential and that he could play at the level above. It’s just that you feel as if he could have stayed a bit longer, especially if you consider the fact that Wigan Athletic got relegated the following season.

“You always have that one on your mind, what if Jamal Lowe had stayed? Because yeah, he was really good for us, he’s obviously not dropped back to League One since he's moved away from us. He's been at numerous clubs in the Championship, and moved to Premier League Bournemouth a couple of years ago, so he's a player that’s proven he can do it at the level higher.

“There are obviously rumours linking him with Pompey in the summer that were eventually turned down, but he is a player that you just wonder, what if he had stayed a bit longer? And potentially a player that's left slightly prematurely.

“But, I mean, I'm grateful for everything that Jamal Lowe did for Pompey and I wish nothing but the best at whatever is next for him.”

There was always going to be a time limit on Lowe’s time at Fratton Park

Having risen mostly through non-league and the lower divisions, it was Portsmouth who took a risk on Lowe and gave him his first taste of consistent Football League minutes.

He didn’t disappoint, recording six goals and nine assists in his first full season with the club, and ramping that up to 15 goals and nine assists in the following campaign.

It was clear to those tracking his progress that he was destined to play higher, and he proved that soon after.

Although Wigan did get relegated the season after, Lowe remained in the Championship with Swansea City and later got a quick taste of Premier League football with then newly-promoted Bournemouth, before dropping back down to his natural level in the Championship.

Lowe was always destined to be a strong second-tier player, and perhaps could have remained a Portsmouth had they been higher in the pyramid, but, for his own career, he made a good call, as it would take Pompey until the 2024/25 season to reach Championship football themselves.