The young Ipswich Town midfielder and former Wycombe loanee who Portsmouth should turn to following Freddie Potts' return to West Ham
Pompey need to find a replacement for Freddie Potts - and there’s a young player at Ipswich who could fit the bill
Freddie Potts’ Pompey loan stint proved a huge success.
A key player in the Blues’ midfield for 37 of their 46 Championship games, the cultured West Ham player was a Rolls Royce in the engine room as John Mousinho’s troops defied early season odds to secure their second-tier safety with two games to spare.
His impact at Fratton Park prompted the Hammers to hand the talented 21-year-old a new long-term contract at the London Stadium.
His form and growing maturity during his second loan away from his boyhood club also caused West Ham boss Graham Potter to admit Potts will be given his chance to compete for a first-team place next season in pre-season.
That came as a blow to Pompey, who were keen to strike another deal with the Hammers that would see the midfielder return to the south coast on another temporary basis.
It still could happen, you never know in football. But the Blues cannot afford to sit around and wait, contingency plans must be in place and alternatives lined up.
Pompey will definitely be in the hunt for midfield reinforcements this summer, with fellow loanee Isaac Hayden also gone. They’ll also be keen to utilise the loan market once more and replicate the success they had with Potts, who enjoyed a profitable loan at League One Wycombe Wanderers last year.
That 43-game spell proved crucial for his development and confidence, and allowed him to adjust to the rigours of senior football.
And it seems the Blues might not have to look beyond the parameters of Adams Park again this summer in order to find an equally exciting gem to welcome to Fratton Park on a short-term deal.
Cameron Humphrey is a player Pompey must consider
Twenty-one-year-old Cameron Humphreys arrived at Wycombe from Ipswich Town last August needing game time to supplement his undoubted quality.
The Colchester-born midfielder had come through the youth ranks at Portman Road and had already broken into Kieran McKenna’s first-team ranks as he assisted in their back-to-back promotions to the Premier League.
Thirty-nine games, in fact, had been recorded as he forged a career in the Tractor Boys’ senior ranks. But there was a risk his development would be stifled with fewer opportunities provided in the top flight.
Up stepped then-Chairboys boss Matt Bloomfield, therefore, to offer a temporary home - and, oh, how all parties benefitted.
While Wycombe proved to be League One’s surprise package last season as they secured a play-off spot, Humphrey’s established himself as a mainstay of that promotion push and a crucial cog in the Wanderers machine.
Forty of his 44 league appearances came as starts, the midfielder finished as the side’s third top scorer with seven goals, while his six assists made him Wanderers’ joint-best when it came to creativity.
Left-footed Humphreys - who has earned the name ‘The Suffolk Messi’ - was also named the Chairboys’ young player of the year. That was something which was also bestowed upon Potts 12 months earlier, although the now former Pompey youngster was also crowned the Wycombe supporters’ player of the year.
What is Cameron Humphrey’s immediate future at Ipswich?
With some impressive stats to boot, too - including a passing accuracy of 78% per 90 minutes, 61.8% successful dribbles and a duels success rate of 52.5% per 90 - Humphreys will certainly return to Portman Road an even better player than what departed less than 12 months ago.
As a result, there’s plenty of Tractor Boys fans who would love to see him back in an Ipswich shirt next season in the Championship.
McKenna hasn’t ruled that out. But speaking to the East Anglian Daily Times last week, he suggested another loan in a deeper-lying midfield role - like that vacated by Potts at Pompey - might help take his game to the next level.
‘It's exactly what we wanted for Cameron,’ said McKenna, when asked about the midfielder’s time at Wycombe.
‘He's had a full season of playing. You can never be sure, but we were pretty sure whichever team were lucky enough to get him, he'd be a big player for them. He's done very well.
‘He's versatile and that's a good thing. At his age, that's strength that he should lean into.
‘He's played higher up (the pitch) there. Usually, when you go on your first loan, you get played higher up than what you end up playing.
‘He's played more often as an attacking midfielder, sometimes as a 10 off of either side. Of course, he played as a pivot player for us and as a left-back.
‘But I think his best qualities are being in the middle of the pitch with his technical quality and his football brain. So hopefully he'll get more of these experiences as his career goes on in those sorts of areas.’
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