Former Portsmouth and Millwall defender still a free agent at 29 after Cardiff City departure
Mahlon Romeo was signed by Danny Cowley to get Pompey to the Championship, now he finds himself without a club.
His contribution to Pompey began in 2022, when the right-back was signed on a season-long loan from Millwall in the 2021/22 season. He ended up making 41 appearances in total but Pompey finished 10th, a whole ten points outside the play-offs.
Despite Pompey missing out on a ticket to the second tier, Romeo ended up making his own way back to the Championship, as Cardiff City signed him for an undisclosed fee off the back of his form at Pompey. The Antigua and Barbuda international reunited with his former manager Steve Morison, but their reunion would last only a couple of months, as Morison was sacked.
Romeo would have to impress his successor Mark Hudson and later Sabri Lamouchi, but the following season his first-team opportunities were limited. He made 18 appearances across all competitions but only eight of those were league starts.
Earlier this year, Romeo's contract with the Bluebirds was terminated despite having a year left to run on his contract. Since then, Romeo has remained without a club, with a quarter of the season played.
In their club statement, Cardiff said that Romeo was allowed to leave to 'seek other opportunities' but so far a move to a new club has failed to materialise. With the January transfer window coming up, the 29-year-old will be hopeful of finding a club that is the right move for him as he bids to get back in to football.
For any club that does wish to take a chance on Romeo, they will be getting a player that was capped 14 times for the Antiguan national team. He boasts 196 games at Championship level, and has been involved in a promotion-winning side in League One, having gone up with Millwall in 2017.
Despite there being a series of high-quality free agents out there, Pompey are unable to dip their toes into the market. Pompey received special dispensation to replace Ibane Bowat last week with Colby Bishop, and have filled their 25-man squad list. Adjustments can be made when the window re-opens in January.