League One Champions Portsmouth are sizing up a move for former loan star Abu Kamara according to reports from Football Insider.
The 20-year-old was an influential part of John Mousinho’s squad as they made a return to the second tier for the first time in 12 years. Pompey secured the top spot five points ahead of Derby County to bring the club their first-ever title in the third division.
Kamara was loaned out to the South Coast from Norwich City by David Wagner, giving him his first regular taste of senior football after making three appearances for the Canaries in the 2022/23 season. The winger featured 52 times across all competitions for Portsmouth, scoring 10 times and recording the same number of assists.
Pete O’Rourke is reporting that the Fratton Park side are set to make an official offer to bring their former loan player back to the club permanently. However, Norwich are reluctant to sell the England Under-20 international unless a substantial offer is made. Transfermarkt values the winger at €600,000 (£500,o00).
Pompey have already made moves to bolster their wing play this summer with a season-long loan move for Middlesbrough‘s Samuel Silvera for the season as well as securing fellow promotion winner Josh Murphy on a three-year deal from Oxford United. Kamara was versatile for Mousinho across the season, mainly deployed on the right wing.
City have changed managers following the sacking of Wagner in May, with FC Nordsjaelland boss Johannes Hoff Thorup arriving at Carrow Road. He made his first move of the window this month by signing Jose Cordoba from Levski Sofia, which former Canaries defender Danny Mills reacted to exclusively for The Real EFL.
Norwich fell short in the Championship play-offs after being resoundingly beaten by Leeds United in the second leg of the semi-finals, condemning them to a third straight season in the second tier.
Writer’s View
Abu Kamara is a hot prospect at right wing for both sides. With Greek international Christos Tzolis moving away from the club and Christian Fassnacht not having the best of seasons, there will be places to fight for in the Norwich City squad next season. Judging by his stellar performance last season, Kamara should be ready to make the jump to play regularly for the club and cause issues for defenders with his tendency to make runs at them. According to Fotmob, he was in the 82nd percentile for chance creation amongst fellow League One players last season.
Portsmouth seemed to really excel with Kamara on the right-hand side last season. The strengthening with Josh Murphy and Samuel Silvera should alleviate his need to play on the other wing and focus fully on the right-hand side. Him and Mousinho were a strong partnership and the 38-year-old has previously eluded to wanting the winger to return to Hampshire next season, saying (Quotes via The Pink’un): “Who knows what will happen with Abu? I’m sure that will be another conversation we have with Andrew and Norwich come the summer, then we’ll see how it goes from there.”
With Norwich’s pre-season kick-starting tomorrow against Club Brugge, Hoff Thorup will give the 20-year-old every chance to prove his ability in pre-season for a regular place in the senior squad. He is entering the final year of his contract at Carrow Road so if a place to play for the Canaries next season, a sizable fee will be wanted to convince the club to sell a highly-rated player. This deal will likely not move immediately to see how the England youth international kicks on in the next couple of weeks.
