'It's not unreasonable' - Former Hull and Norwich forward Abu Kamara told early Portsmouth home truths
Pompey fans are waiting patiently for Abu Kamara to be firing on all cylinders for the Blues following his Fratton Park return in the summer
Pompey need more from Abu Kamara.
That’s the honest verdict of The News’ Neil Allen, who believes the forward’s performances have ben average since making his Fratton Park return in the summer.
The Blues stumped up £2.5m to bring the winger back to the south coast following a memorable 2023-24 campaign that saw the 23-year-old bag a League One title-winner’s medal as well as 10 goals and 11 assists in all competitions.
But the former Norwich and Hull forward is yet to hit the heights so many had hoped for following his homecoming.
Since putting pen to paper on a three-year deal at PO4, Kamara’s only goal contribution has been the assist he recorded against Lincoln on August 22.
According to Allen, that’s simply not good enough.
‘They just need more from him’
‘I was very disappointed with Kamara and (Marko) Milovanovic’s performances on Saturday (against Millwall). I thought they were both very poor,’ said The News’ chief sports writer in the latest episode of Pompey Talk.
‘He does daft things at times, Kamara, doesn't he? He did it at Wolves, when he gave possession away after Devlin did so well for the goal. And he did it Saturday as well, with a dopey pass out of the box. He's got to get sharper.
‘It's difficult to compare him to the League One season, because they're different levels. As we saw, some players play brilliantly. Paddy Lane was brilliant in League One. Championship? No, no!
‘He's robust, he's fit, he can last all game, all 90 minutes, which is really good for Pompey. It’s one of the reasons why they keep him on. But they just need more from him.
‘(They need) more creativity from him, more good decisions from him. He's not there yet, is he?’
Kamara was a complete rookie with no just five substitute appearances for Norwich to his name when he moved to Pompey on loan as a 19-year-old in 2023.
Back then, it took the former England under-20 international nine games to make his mark in a Blues shirt as he registered a goal and an assist in a 3-1 win against Peterborough.
Twelve games into his second Blues spell, following a loan spell with Getafe in La Liga, Allen believes it's not unreasonable to want more from the forward.
‘When he first came to Pompey, he was three years younger. He joined as a teenager. He'd never been out on loan before,’ added Allen.
‘He's no longer a teenager. He's played plenty of games in his career now. More than 100, you'd imagine.
‘So it's not unreasonable to want more from him.
‘Other than Lincoln away when he was involved in two goals, there were some good moments against Cardiff at home, too. But other than that, he's been very average to me.
‘Not bad, just average. But I thought Saturday he was very poor.’
For your next Pompey read: Why Portsmouth boss is persevering with Kamara as Chelsea starlet's sacrificed amid impressive Fratton stay