'I feel like it' - Abu Kamara speaks for first time about his Portsmouth stay after completing £4.5m transfer to Hull City
Abu Kamara has spoken for the first time about his Pompey experience since completing a £4.5m move to Hull on transfer deadline day.
The winger, who spent the entire 2023-24 season on loan at Fratton Park from Norwich, said he would be forever grateful to the Blues for the chance they provided him to develop his career.
Kamara admitted he learned a lot about his game and himself during his 52-match stint on the south coast, which was dovetailed by Pompey clinching a return to the Championship by securing the League One title.
But as the 21-year-old prepares to take on his former club in the second tier at the MKM Stadium on Saturday, he conceded he wasn’t planning on doing John Mousinho’s Blues any favours as they struggle with the step up in division - quite the opposite, in fact!
Speaking to the Tigers’ website in the build-up to the game, Kamara said: ‘Overall, I enjoyed the whole experience – the bad and the good bits of it.
‘I feel like it developed me as a player and as a person, and I wouldn't change anything about my whole learning experience with Portsmouth, so, I'd say I really enjoyed my time there.
‘I feel like Portsmouth gave me the chance to allow me to show what I can do on a consistent basis, and I'm just happy I was given that chance. But I'm on the other side of the table now, so there’s no love lost, but I would like the three points.
‘It's always a fixture I will look forward to and it will be good to see some old faces again, but I'm against them now, so we'll see what this fixture holds.’
Kamara, who registered 10 goals and 11 assists for Pompey last season, has been slowly adapting to life at the MKM Stadium since his big-money move from Norwich - money that the Blues simply weren’t able to compete with, despite retaining hope they could lure the England under-20 international back to Fratton Park.
The winger has only three league starts to his name to date and one assist, with boss Tim Walter preferring to utilise others in his forward line.
A season-ending injury suffered by Liam Millar, however, has opened up an opportunity on Hull’s left wing. Kamara started there against Derby last time out and looks set to be given the nod again as the Tigers look to add to Pompey’s Championship troubles.
Kamara added: ‘I'll just keep working hard on the training pitch and, hopefully, I can show what I can do on the left side and make it my own.
‘I've enjoyed my time so far at the club, all the boys have made me feel welcome from the start. It's a good bunch of lads, so I'm really excited for what is to come.
‘It (his assist against Burnley, after replacing the injured Millar in the first half) was a bit of a confidence booster, and it just allowed me to ease myself into life at home. I'm just looking to build on that and contribute more goals and assists throughout the whole season.
‘I'd say they (the coaching staff) have been really good, they've just been giving me little tips that I've been taking on board on this left-hand side. But I think, for my personal development, I'm happy with how I'm progressing because I feel like I'm improving every week.’