'A wonderful place to play your football' - Portsmouth get striker transfer seal of approval as release clause triggered
Former Pompey forward Eoin Doyle provides Eoin Kenny with glowing Fratton Park reference
Former Pompey striker Eoin Doyle has given Eoin Kenny’s move to Pompey his seal of approvai.
The one-time Blues loanee, who was signed by Paul Cook in 2017, believes the switch to Fratton Park represents a ‘brilliant move’ for the Dundalk forward.
He insisted playing for Pompey is guaranteed to be an eye-opening experience for the 20-year-old as he lauded the ‘wonderful’ football-mad city.
Doyle also added the club has a special aura that comes from the fans’ love of the Blues.
‘It’s a big club, Portsmouth’
Doyle, who scored two goals in 12 loan appearances for the Blues over the second half of the 2016-17 season, bigged up his former club after news filtered through of Northern Ireland under-21 international Kenny’s switch to PO4 on Friday night.
The Derry-born youngster was a noteable absentee from Dundalk’s League of Ireland Premier Division fixture against Shelbourne, with manager with Ciaran Killduff providing context for the player’s surprise omission.
Killduff said: ‘Eoin has been flying but the reality of a player flying is, it looks like Eoin will be leaving the club in the next 24 hours.
‘It only happened late in the week, we have been speaking to him all week, it’s something that has transpired and I’d say it will be announced in the next 24 hours.’
That news was also relayed to viewers of Virgin Media Sport, who were broadcasting the Dundalk’s trip Shelbourne game from Tolka Park.
Doyle was part of their punditry team for the game. When asked what he thought of the development, he couldn’t have been more glowing about his former side.
The Irishman said: ‘He’s going over to the Championship, it’s a big club, Portsmouth, I played for them myself.
‘It’s a wonderful city, a wonderful place to play your football, very intense.
‘They sell out most weeks, the stand is right in on top of you, it will be an experience he’s probably never experienced yet, playing football there with the kind of aura around the football club and how miuch it means to the fans.
‘The city, it lives and breathes the club, so it’s going to be a great experience for him.’
Kenny release clause triggered
It’s been reported that Pompey triggered the £34,000 release clause Kenny had in his Dundalk contract.
It’s a fee that has raised a few eyebrows on the other side of the Irish Sea.
However, Doyle believes Dundalk will have certain conditions inserted in the right-sided forward’s switch to Fratton Park that they’ll benefit from in the future.
‘(It’s) a brilliant move for him, a brilliant move for him.’ said Doyle.
‘I know we all have a bit of a thing regarding these release clauses, we don’t really want to see them, we want to see our young players going for big chunky, healthy fees. But, obviously, you mentioned the terms and conditions there, and you don’t know what’s attached to it.
‘There might be sell-ons clauses and all that good stuff as well.’
Kenny leaves Dundalk with five goals and three assists from his 22 appearances from the Oriel Park side durin their 2026 season.
In total, he made 81 appearances for the club, scoring 17 goals.
Pompey saw off interest from Lincoln City and Luton Town to sign Kenny.