Report: Portsmouth poised for striker disappointment as Watford and Stoke named as loan frontrunners
Pompey-linked Daniel Jebbison will reportedly choose between Stoke and Watford as he prepares to leave Bournemouth on loan.
The in-demand forward, who has had a host of Championship clubs interested in his services this summer, has apparently turned down an approach to make Fratton Park his temporary home for the season.
Instead, the former Sheffield United man prefers a move to either of the two more-established Championship clubs and will make his mind up next week and before transfer deadline day on Friday, August 30.
News on the latest developments are courtesy of the i’s Northern Football Correspondent Mark Douglas, who claims the Blues ‘made an offer’ for the 21-year-old, who only moved to the Cherries from Bramall Lane this summer for a £1.5m training compensation fee.
Pompey are keen to add extra firepower to their ranks in the wake of Colby Bishop’s need for heart surgery. But their pursuit of Jebbison looks poised to end in disappointment as the exciting talent has a preference to continue his footballing education elsewhere.
He is once again expected to be part of boss Andoni Iraola’s first-team squad for Sunday’s game against Newcastle United at the Vitality Stadium, having made his Cherries debut as a second-half substitute against Nottingham Forest last Saturday.
But by the end of next week, the striker will be at either Watford or Stoke as Bournemouth grant him a Championship move following their signing of Brazilian Evanilson for a club record £40.2m.
Jebbison’s reported Pompey snub will come as a blow to John Mousinho, who this week welcomed midfielder Abdoulaye Kamara and goalkeeper Nicolas Schmid to Fratton Park as the club’s latest signings.
Bishop’s need for heart surgery leaves the Blues significantly weaker up front, despite the arrival of Elias Sorensen for Esbjerg for a reported 300,000 euros.
An injury to Kusini Yengi meant Christian Saydee led Pompey’s line for last Saturday’s goalless draw against Luton.
Speaking about Jebbison earlier this month, Mousinho told The News: ‘Daniel has gone from Sheffield United to Bournemouth for a fair amount of money. I suspect that he will be involved in Bournemouth’s squad come the opening day of the season.
‘We’ve spoken this summer about what it looks like with those Premier League clubs and not many of those 21s have moved yet.
‘A lot of that is because of the Euros, a lot of it is because Premier League clubs have looked at it and there’s not been a huge amount of movement at the top level in terms of player transfers. So a lot of these players are going to get a chance as we get into the Premier League season.
‘I think it’s going to be one where it gets late in the window for Premier League clubs to actually decide if they are going to move some of the youngsters on.’