Pompey retain an interest in former Fratton favourite Abu Kamara - two years on from the end of his PO4 loan spell
‘It’s been done for a reason’.
The Blues sporting director spoke candidly about his admiration for the Hull City forward, who spent the 2023-24 season on loan at Fratton Park from Norwich, in an interview with BBC Solent’s Andy Moon.
He said Pompey would be open to having the 22-year-old back in head coach John Mousinho's ranks, but was not sure whether a deal for the player could be achieved this summer.
When asked about a possible reunion with Kamara, who still has two years remaining on his MKM Stadium contract, Hughes said: ‘Abu's a player we really like. The honest answer is I don't know at the minute.
‘There's a lot of moving parts. Hull have obviously been promoted, their sporting director’s left, so there's necessities to sort of go within.
‘But if there was an opportunity for us to explore, to try and bring Abu Kamara back, would we be interested? Yes, we absolutely would be.
‘There's probably a lot of bits that will go in place to try and make that a viable option. But if it was something we were able to explore as a football club, it would be something that we would pursue.’
‘Rich is an intelligent man’
Hughes’ transparency was refreshing and will no doubt have gone down well with the Fratton faithful, who are desperate for the Blues’ recruitment team to add extra quality to Mousinho’s ranks this summer.
But in an era when club personnel traditionally refrain from speaking about another side’s player, it begged the question: why?
He said: ‘Rich is an intelligent man. He would have gone into that interview knowing full well he was going to be asked about Abu Kamara, and that would have been a considered response, to come out and talk about it.
‘So, yeah, it's been done for a reason.
‘To be perfectly honest, I haven't given it enough thought to kind of really get to the bottom of why that is. Maybe he just wanted to get a message out there to Abu?
‘Maybe he wants to make a statement about it to supporters. But that would have been done for a reason and considered.
‘Hopefully there's just a positive reason for that for Pompey supporters.’
Pompey’s admiration for Abu Kamara
Pompey’s interest in Kamara is longstanding.
After helping end the Blues’ 12-year wait for a Championship return in 2024 with 10 goals and 11 assists, the Fratton Park club were keen to make the forward’s temporary stay from Norwich permanent.
But they couldn’t compete with Hull as they forked out £3m-plus on the former England under-20 international.
Signing a four-year deal, Kamara is currently under contract with the Tigers until 2028.
However, his time at the MKM Stadium hasbeen far from plain sailing, under previous boss Ruben Selles and current manager Sergej Jakirović.
Indeed, the Carrow Road academy graduate has failed to match the impressive form he produced during his successful season-long loan at Fratton Park during his two years at the club.
The forward has managed just five goals and three assists in 40 appearances and featured just twice in the Championship last term before being granted a loan move to Getafe.
In Spain, Kamara failed to net in any of his 13 La Liga outings last season and has since returned to the MKM Stadium.
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