Transfer gossip: Portsmouth join eight English clubs trailing non-league sensation
Pompey are reportedly keeping tabs on Sutton United centre-back Jack Taylor.
John Mousinho’s men are believed to be keen on the 20-year-old, who is set to enter the final 12 months of his contract with the non-league outfit.
The Blues are also claimed to be in the race for the talented defender along with a host of clubs - including Spurs, Brentford, West Ham, Bristol City, Peterborough United, Cambridge United and MK Dons.
Taylor has come through the ranks at Gander Green Lane and made his debut in a 1-0 defeat to Tranmere Rovers in March 2024.
He would register just one other first-team outing during the campaign, before being sent out on loan to Hampton and Richmond in July.
And it would be a spell which caught the eye, where he amassed 23 appearances in the National League South - nine of which were clean sheets.
After penning a temporary deal until the end of December, the Taylor returned to Gander Green Lane under boss Steve Morrison.
And he quickly established himself in the backline, featuring 13 times during the second half of the campaign, finishing 12th in the National League.
After signing a professional contract in February 2024, he is reportedly entering the final 12 months of his current terms and - after impressing this term - clubs across the English pyramid are on high alert.
Transfer correspondent Graeme Bailey has cliamed the Blues are one of the eight clubs tracking Taylor ahead of a move this summer.
John Mousinho’s Pompey transfer stance ahead of busy summer window
Indeed, the young prospect becomes the latest name to be linked to Fratton Park ahead of the forthcoming transfer window.
With more than a month still to go until business can get underway, Crystal Palace talent Hindolo Mustapha, Sunderland’s Nectar Triantis and Abdoulie Manneh are already believed to be on the Blues’ radar.
And those names indicate Pompey are looking to turn their attention back to recruiting young, emerging prospects - something which John Mousinho is keen to return to after recruiting experienced heads in the January market.
Speaking to The News last month, the head coach said: ‘We had mix our long-term strategy in January with making sure we did enough to stay in the league. We also had the first player in my time that we paid more than £1m for in Hayden.
‘Whenever we speak about transfer budgets with the football club, we have a rough idea of what there is to spend.
‘When we’ve asked for money or extra money, and we’ve done that a fair few times, the answer has always been yes.
‘It’s been about us saying things like “this is a player we can pay £1m-plus for and we think he’s going to come in and have a real impact now and for the future”. That was the case in Hayden Matthews, we’re backing him and we’re putting our name to him.
‘When that happened it’s always been a quick conversation, there’s never been any “oh we need to go away and think about it”. It’s been “yes, we’re going to do that”. Then it was how are we going to mix it? We were going to mix it with four loan players who will cost x amount, and that is going to take us way above our budget.
‘That’s what we have done, so fair play to the club because we’ve always had that ability to be flexible with it. With things like fees, we can spend on exciting, young players who can come in and make an impact now - so we’ll keep doing it.’