Portsmouth are refusing to budge on his £3m asking price for attacker Jamal Lowe, as reported by the Portsmouth News.

Lowe has been a transfer target for Wigan Athletic this summer, with the Latics having a number of bids turned down. Their most recent bid was reported to be in the region of £2.6m, still short of the club's valuation.

That's led to an increased hope that Pompey might be able to hang on to their prized asset, with the season just nine days away.

The man playing hardball is chief executive Mark Catlin, who is refusing to negotiate on their asking price of £3m.

That's despite a deal being agreed for Marcus Harness, the Burton Albion winger. He's arrived from the Pirelli Stadium for a fee thought to be in the region of £1m and is seen as a like for like replacement for Lowe.

He's the costliest player to arrive at Fratton Park in eight years, but that still won't convince Catlin to lower his value of Lowe.

25-year-old Lowe bagged 15 goals last season as Pompey narrowly missed out on promotion to the Championship, having originally arrived from Hampton and Richmond in January 2017.

The Verdict

Jamal Lowe is a saleable asset, but it seems there is no pressing need to cash in on that asset. £400,000 isn't a huge amount to some clubs, but to both Wigan and Portsmouth it seems to be a stumbling block.

Wigan should bite the bullet and sign Lowe. He'll give them the creativity they've lost in Nick Powell, although perhaps in a slightly different way. Pompey seem resigned to losing him and have already put their contingency in place.

It just looks like a battle of wills now, who will blink first? Will Wigan find the extra funds, or will fear of losing a sale completely push Pompey to fold at the last minute?