Portsmouth news round-up: Josh Murphy latest as worrying stat emerges
They say it’s never a boring day at Portsmouth Football Club, and that has proven to be true more often than not this season.
Portsmouth drew 2-2 with Watford earlier in the week, and the squad will now be busy preparing for Middlesbrough to visit Fratton Park on Saturday.
Yet, there’s still a lot of exciting events occurring behind the scenes.
Below, Pompey News rounds up the news headlines to come out of Fratton Park in the last 24 hours.
Portsmouth urged to try and sign Patrick Bamford
Portsmouth have struggled for goals this season, having only hit the back of the new seven times in their opening eight league games.
Colby Bishop has struggled for form, but the Blues don’t really have a senior striker they can trust to replace him as their main man up front.
For that reason, former Pompey midfielder Martin Allen has urged the club to try and sign Patrick Bamford.
The Championship stalwart remains a free agent after being released by Leeds this summer.
John Mousinho makes bold claim after being questioned about Conor Chaplin’s form
Conor Chaplin is yet to show the form that made Portsmouth fans so excited to have signed him on loan for the season.
The playmaker has played eight games in the Championship this season for Ipswich and Pompey, but he’s yet to register a goal contribution.
When questioned about Chaplin’s form, John Mousinho had no doubts that the Portsmouth-born attacker would turn things around.
In fact, Mousinho labelled Chaplin as the Championship’s best player from the 2023-24 season, and he promised to help him rediscover that form.
Josh Murphy signs new contract as he prepares for first team return
Josh Murphy penned a new contract on Thursday evening, keeping him at Fratton Park until 2028.
The winger had been a subject of bids from other Championship clubs in the summer, so this new deal will put a lot of minds at rest.
Murphy has also been tipped to return to first-team action on Saturday after missing the last three games with an ankle injury.
New data suggests that odds are stacked against Portsmouth against Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough remained unbeaten on Tuesday after securing a goalless draw at home to Stoke. The result means Boro have more clean sheets than any other Championship side this season.
Portsmouth beat the Teesiders 2-1 in January the last time these two clubs met, but they haven’t registered back-to-back wins against them since 2006.
All the data suggests that Portsmouth are underdogs against Middlesbrough, but they’ll be backed by a sell-out crowd at Fratton Park once again.
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