'Can tell he's hungry' - Portsmouth flop Abdoulaye Kamara making 'giant strides' following decision to end Fratton Park stay 3 years early
Former Pompey midfielder Abdoulaye Kamara has quickly put his Fratton Park frustrations behind him
Pompey flop Abdoulaye Kamara is set to bring ‘a lot of joy’ to new club FC Saarbrücken.
That’s the honest verdict of the German third-tier side’s manager, Alois Schwartz, who believes the midfielder is making important strides at the Ludwigsparkstadion following his move there on the final day of the summer transfer window.
The former Borussia Dortmund youngster, who arrived at Fratton Park for an undisclosed fee in August 2024, was allowed to return to Germany after both he and the Blues agreed to mutually terminate his contract, which still had three years remaining.
The 20-year-old was told on the first day of pre-season in July that he was no longer part of head coach John Mousinho’s plans, following just six appearances in his maiden PO4 campaign, and was free to find new employers.
It took another two months for the conditions of that exit to be agreed. Yet, it hasn’t taken the one-time PSG trainee long to make an impression at FCS.
Kamara has already featured seven times for Saarbrücken and has started each of their past four games, following the three-match ban handed out to fellow midfielder Elijah Krahn in the recent 1-1 draw with SV Wehen Wiesbaden.
That run of form is expected to continue against lowly Alemannia Aachen on Sunday - and all because of the impact Kamara has made on Schwartz during his brief stint at the club to date.
Abdoulaye Kamara making giant strides at FC Saarbrücken
Speaking about Kamara following his impressive start to life at Saarbrücken, the manager told saarbruecker-zeitung.de: ‘He’s a lad with a top-tier education – Dortmund, PSG – you can tell. He still needs a bit of time to adjust to our pace, but the signs are excellent. He’ll bring us a lot of joy.
‘He has incredible ball control for his size – 1.85 metres - but he plays like a number 10. You rarely see that in a defensive six.
‘In Dortmund and PSG, he learned to shine with the ball. Now he’s learning to fight without it. That’s the next step – and he’s taking it in giant strides.
‘You can tell he’s hungry. England was a setback, but he didn’t let it get to him. He trains like a pro who knows he still has something to prove.’
Abdoulaye Kamara had ‘difficult time’ at Pompey
The last of Kamara’s six Pompey appearances came in the FA Cup third-round defeat to Wycombe on January 10 - a game the midfielder started anf finished. Yet he wouldn’t feature again for the club, with Mousinho not selecting him for any match-day squad over the second half of the season.
Despite Kamara not making the grade at Fratton Park, Pompey chief executive Andy Cullen retained the belief the player still had the quality that attracted the Blues to him in the first place.
Speaking in September, the Blues CEO said: ‘It was a difficult time for Abdu, he is definitely a talented player.
‘Unfortunately it didn’t work out for him at Pompey, but I am pretty confident that we correctly recognised his ability, that’s why we signed him.
‘He has gone to Germany and, going forward, I am sure that will relaunch the career of someone who is a real talent. We wish him the best.
‘We were able to reach agreement on his contract to allow him to get on with his career, while also allowing us to look at other options. So it’s a win, win for both parties.’