Portsmouth had been hoping to try and bring in Oumar Niasse on a short-term deal to see if it would be worth pursuing a move for the player - but The News is reporting that a deal is no longer happening.

The Fratton Park outfit want to aim for promotion in League One next season and after falling away from the play-off places in the third tier in the last campaign, Danny Cowley will want to improve next time around.

There's certainly work to be done this summer, especially in the striking department in order to achieve that goal. They've seen a number of exits of some of their forwards and as things stand, only Ronan Curtis and reserve team options could play as a centre-forward at the club.

 

 

That means they will need to bring in several bodies in attack - and one player who they had wanted to look at was Niasse.

The 32-year-old recently played for Burton in the same division and although he managed only seven starts during his time at the Pirelli Stadium, he still managed to bag three goals.

Prior to that, the forward had played plenty of times in the Premier League too - meaning his level of experience could be a real boost to Portsmouth if they were to sign him. He played 35 times for Everton most notably and bagged eight goals along the way.

Now, without a team, it looked like Pompey would be able to let him join up with them and see if they wanted to pursue a permanent deal for the 32-year-old. However, it now seems as though that trial deal won't happen - and instead, Niasse will remain a free agent for now.

The forward will likely find another club this summer - but it won't be Portsmouth it seems.

The Verdict

Oumar Niasse is well capable of producing the goods in League One and has proven as much during his short spell with Burton.

Eight lots of 90 minutes for the Brewers produced three goals - not a bad record and he could certainly produce more given more regular gametime. Even as a rotation option for Portsmouth, who currently have a big shortage of strikers, he could be a solid addition to the side.

The 32-year-old though won't be heading to Fratton Park and some might see that as a blow and others might see that as a positive. Some supporters might want younger options or players who have played more in the third tier and have a better goal record than the former Everton man.

Some though will see the lack of striker options and another missed target and think that the club and Danny Cowley really need to get a move on in bringing in forward options, with the season approaching for the club.