Portsmouth still retain an interest in AFC Bournemouth forward Christian Saydee despite the fact that he is no longer training with the club.

According to a report from The News, Pompey will continue to monitor the 20-year-old's situation after recently handing him a trial.

Saydee represented Portsmouth in their pre-season friendlies with Havant & Waterlooville and Gosport last weekend.

The forward was not included in the group that has travelled to Spain to participate in a week-long training camp.

However, whereas Levi Andoh, Rumarn Burrell and Josh Gould are no longer being pursued by Portsmouth, the club have not closed the door on a potential swoop for Saydee.

During his career to date, Saydee has only managed to make five senior appearances for Bournemouth.

With the Cherries set to feature in the Premier League next season, the forward is unlikely to make any inroads on the club's starting eleven due to the presence of Kieffer Moore and Dominic Solanke.

Loaned out by Bournemouth to Burton Albion earlier this year, Saydee went on to feature on 18 occasions in League One for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's side.

Whereas Saydee was not able to find the back of the net during this spell, he did provide an assist in Burton's 3-2 victory over Fleetwood Town in March.

 

 

The Verdict

With Portsmouth retaining an interest in Saydee, it will be interesting to see whether they decide to step up this particular transfer pursuit in the coming weeks.

When you consider that the forward only managed to average an underwhelming WhoScored match rating of 6.15 in the third-tier, there is no guarantee that he will be able to perform on a consistent basis at this level in a Pompey shirt next season.

Keeping this in mind, it could be argued that Portsmouth head coach Danny Cowley should switch his attention to other targets ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

Pompey could boost their chances of challenging for a top-six finish if they secure the services of a forward this summer who has a proven track-record of delivering the goods in League One.