Why Abdoulaye Kamara’s Portsmouth career flopped after high Championship hopes
After stays with Paris St Germain and Borussia Dortmund, there were high hopes for Abdoulaye Kamara’s Pompey career. In the final reckoning, it proved a huge disappointment: Here’s what unfolded.
It was a man-of-the-match debut cameo which offered a chink of light amid a darkening Championship opening.
Abdoulaye Kamara’s 30-minute offering in the 3-1 Fratton defeat by Sunderland last August left Blues fans wanting more, at a time when John Mousinho’s men were finding their feet at the level.
Sunderland debut excited - but Pompey career eventually imploded
A pedigree which saw European giants Paris St Germain and Borussia Dortmund as previous stop-offs on the way to Fratton Park had excited, when the midfielder’s capture had been confirmed 11 days before his impressive bow.
Likewise, the clips of the 20-year-old’s driving and forceful play through the middle of the pitch no doubt made a tempting highlights reel for potential suitors.
Pompey were convinced enough to hand Kamara a four-year deal and after the initial glimpse of his natural talent, the Fratton Faithful could see why.
Yet, fast-forward 12 months, and the Guinean’s days at PO4 are done and dusted, that early cause for optimism a distant memory.
In fact, Kamara’s Fratton career was to span just four league appearances and 113 minutes of time on the pitch – in addition to a shambolic FA Cup showing in the freezing Wycombe defeat in January.
Amid that testing start to their Championship term, his lack of minutes was to become one of the main talking points among fans, as their side struggled with one in 15 in all competitions.
Mousinho himself was diplomatic in his reasoning when pushed on the issue.
‘He (Kamara) has maybe been a victim and hurt by a slight change in approach to our games and the fact we’ve been less focussed on possession and a bit more direct,’ Mousinho told The News last November.
‘A lot of our good play has been based around how we press and our out-of-possession work. I think Abdou, in the glimpses we’ve seen of him, is a really strong player in possession but can tidy up a little bit in terms of his final product.'
It’s a theme the Pompey boss would return to whenever the subject surfaced later in the season, but no squad involvement whatsoever over the final 22 games gave a more revealing insight.
The Blues boss’ patience had probably snapped with Kamara by that point, but after his sorry Adams Park showing it was a long, long way back to turn things around.
Out-of-shape Pompey pre-season return finished Fratton career
Pompey’s football operation had become increasingly frustrated with an attitude and commitment to his trade viewed as significantly below that required of a player in a Mousinho side.
While the Blues ran and pressed their way to Championship comfort, Kamara was doing little to change that assessment as he was left in the stands.
Still, this summer offered the chance of a fresh start as Pompey’s squad returned for pre-season testing, with their opportunity to make a mark.
Kamara certainly did that - by coming back unfit and out of shape.
It was to be the final nail in the coffin of the player’s Fratton career, as Kamara was packed off back to Paris in pre-season and written off as a lost cause.
He was once seen as one of PSG’s bright, young things and shared a Dortmund dressing room with Erling Haaland. Now a downward career trajectory sees an undoubted talent arrive in the German third division.
There’s still time for the penny to drop before his football story becomes another of those tales of wasted ability. Time is short, however, and Pompey have given their verdict on the likelihood of that happening anytime soon.