Former Portsmouth and Rotherham defender offers reminder of quality he possesses as wait for new club continues
Cohen Bramall remains a free agent after his Pompey release
Cohen Bramall’s search for a new club continues, following his Pompey departure at the end of last season.
However, the attack-minded left-back’s days as a free agent could be coming to an end if clubs check out a clip that has been uploaded on Instagram this week.
While a host of fellow out-of-contract players make the most of a PFA-led pre-season training camp in Leicestershire - including former Blues Ryan Tunnicliffe and Ellis Harrison - 29-year-old Bramall has been working on his game with WM Football Coaching in the north west.
Among their list of clients this summer have been Leeds’ Joe Gelhardt, Liverpool’s Tyler Morton and another young Red, Kaylum Moss.
Yet the young trio would be hard pushed to replicate the accuracy of a thunderous left-footed shot the former Pompey and Rotherham defender unleashed during a training drill that was captured on camera an uploaded onto Instagram.
For someone of Bramall’s quality, it’s probably something he’s done time and time in training. But the precision of the shot, plus his obvious physical fitness, should come as a gentle reminder to those managers still searching for a bargain this transfer window.
In addition, we’re often told players with a wand of a left foot are hard to come by. Yet here’s a player who’s clearly adept at being a threat down any side’s left flank.
Cohen Bramall released by Pompey
Bramall, who arrived at Fratton Park for an undisclosed fee and on a short-term contract from Rotherham in January, was one of five senior players released by the Blues at the end of last season.
He joined Alexander Milosevic, Kusini Yengi, Anthony Scully and Tom Lowery in being told they were free to seek new employers - that’s despite impressing in a 12-game stint for John Mousinho’s men as they looked to avoid the drop back down to League One.
Often asked to play a more advanced role down Pompey’s left-hand side as he provided back-up to Josh Murphy, Bramall was a serious contender to be handed fresh terms by the PO4 outfit.
But with Jacob Farrell closing in on his injury return and the Blues wanting a proper winger this summer to serve as Murphy’s understudy, the decision was taken to allow the former Arsenal trainee to leave after just five months on the south coast.
Door not closed on Cohen Bramall Portsmouth return
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Sill impressed with what he got out of Bramall as he contributed to Pompey’s Championship survival, Mousinho, however, refused to close the door on a potential Fratton Park return.
Speaking to The News in May, the Pompey head coach said: ‘We haven’t said to Cohen there’s absolutely nothing here in the summer, but we are really happy with the two contracted left-backs (Connor Ogilvie and Jacob Farrell) we’ve got.
‘We’ll see how the transfer window plays out because we see Cohen as having a bit of versatility in different positions as well, but certainly he came in and did a brilliant job for us. He’s put himself right in the shop window to pick up, in my opinion, another Championship football club.
‘Under any other circumstances we would have been looking to offer Cohen something, but Jacob has been out pretty much all season and we paid money for a young lad to come over from Australia and have high hopes for him.
‘It's tough to have three left-backs right now. If it’s something which opens up at the back end of the summer then maybe, but it’s difficult right now when we’re looking to free up spaces and free up funds for summer recruitment.’
Of the five players released by Pompey at the end of last season, only Yengi (Aberdeen) and Lowery (Kilmarnock) have found new clubs. Scully has been training with Danny Cowley’s Colchester United but is yet to sign a contract with the U’s, whom he was on loan with last season.