Andy Cullen makes 'significant' admission on Portsmouth summer pursuit of Abu Kamara

Andy Cullen has opened up on how Portsmouth pursued Alex Robertson and Abu Kamara, who each joined Championship rivals in the summer.

As quoted by The News [16 November], the Fratton Park CEO explained that a fee and even personal terms were agreed with Manchester City and Robertson before he swerved to Cardiff City.

Kamara was a player the Blues enquired about following his incredible year on loan in 2023-24, but Hull City paid Norwich City a significant fee of around £4.5million for his services.

Cullen said: "We had an offer accepted by Manchester City and agreed terms with Alex as well. But Alex chose, as is his prerogative, that he wanted to go to Cardiff. That’s absolutely fine, though it was to our disappointment.

"With Abu, there was a significant transfer fee paid by Hull City. Ultimately we have to make those judgments and it’s about being sensible as well.

"We would have loved Abu to come in but we’ve gone out, reappraised and brought in alternatives in a number of positions."

Portsmouth narrowly missed out on champion pair

Portsmouth fans were battling the urge, as the cliche goes, to fall in love with a loan player twofold last season.

Robertson was a classy operator who glided through League One midfield battles with ease, until a long-term injury put paid to his second half of the season.

Kamara was immense throughout, registering 18 league goal contributions as a revelation in the wide areas of John Mousinho's system, and teammates attempted to convince him to make a return.

Pompey's recruitment was a minefield over the summer as the club looked to balance financial stability with building a Championship-ready squad.

The Blues ended up turning to Kamara's namesake Abdoulaye along with Freddie Potts and Andre Dozzell as midfield additions instead of Robertson; out wide, Josh Murphy, Matt Ritchie, Harvey Blair and Elias Sorensen were among the options to arrive.

In other Portsmouth news, Ian Darke admits one Blues player has a "depressing" future at Fratton after a decision made by Mousinho.

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