Portsmouth defender Christian Burgess has claimed that he has offers to move to several other clubs when his contract with Pompey expires in a few months time.

Burgess, who has made 208 appearances in all competitions for Portsmouth since joining the club from Peterborough back in the summer of 2015, is set to see his current deal at Fratton Park draw to a close at the end of the season.

Speaking about his situation beyond the end of the season on a recent edition of The Athletic's Going Up Going Down podcast, Burgess revealed that while he is in talks with Portsmouth about a possible new deal, no terms have yet been agreed, while other offers have been made to the defender.

That is something that surely ought to spur Portsmouth into action with regards to a new contract for Burgess, lest they lose him to another side.

Here, we take a look at three reasons why the League One side must secure a new deal for the defender before they are beaten to it.

His performances

The obvious reason Portsmouth will want to keep hold of Burgess beyond the end of this season, is the quality of performances he has put in during his time with the club.

Having helped them lift the League Two title back in the 2016/17, Burgess has continued to be a key figure in Pompey's backline since their step up to the third-tier, aiding them in their push for promotion to the Championship in recent years.

As a result, Portsmouth are not going to want to lose a player whose departure would undoubtedly weaken their current squad, particularly if that was to directly strengthen one of their rivals as a result.

It may not go down well with fans

Having been at the club for several years now, and made such a contribution in that time, Burgess is certainly someone who has endeared himself to the Fratton Park faithful.

With that in mind, you feel there would be a significant amount of disappointment around the club if Burgess was to exit this summer, given no fan likes to see an important and long-serving player leave their team.

Indeed, it would also put pressure on Portsmouth to go out and find a suitable and reliable replacement for Burgess, with failure to do that only likely to increase frustrations around the situation further, given they will have been well aware of the impending expiration of his contract for some time now.

The financial aspect

It is also worth noting that that imminent expiry of Burgess' contract does not help Portsmouth from a financial perspective either.

If the defender does leave Fratton Park come the end of the season without agreeing a new deal with the club, then it means he will be doing so as a free agent, thus denying Pompey the chance to receive any sort of transfer fee from his prospective new club - whoever that may.

Consequentially, Portsmouth will surely want get this deal with Burgess agreed sooner rather than later, then they would at least be able to get some funds from his sale that they could then use to go out and buy a replacement for the defender, if he does elect to move on at the end of the campaign.