‘Summer’s most wanted’ – Tottenham’s Jamie O’Hara

Jamie O’Hara has been on loan at Portsmouth from Tottenham since August, and is now staying at the club until the end of the season. This was confirmed in the last transfer window, but with the future of Portsmouth Football Club in major doubt, where will O’Hara end up at the start of next season?

O’Hara is likely to find himself stranded, at least during the beginning stages of the summer. It is likely that he may end up leaving Tottenham permanently because he is not likely to get a regular role in the midfield. Speaking to Sky Sports News, the 23-year-old said: “The long term is something I’m going to have to sit down and talk about at the end of the season; I went back to Tottenham and wasn’t really involved, so maybe I have to move on. We’ll see what happens at the end of the season but they’re a massive club and they’re always going to be involved in big signings. Sometimes you have to move on as a younger English player to further your career.”

Judging by what he has said, he will know deep down that there is no future for him at White Hart Lane. The fact that he recognises the club is going to be “involved in big signings” suggests there could be significant transfer activity at Tottenham this summer. It may be that O’Hara has to lower his standards, and try to engineer a move to club in the Premiership that is lower in stature than Tottenham.

It emerged purely on speculation in January that Fulham were potential candidates to sign O’Hara at the end of the season. Under the circumstances at Fratton Park, Portsmouth did very well to keep hold of O’Hara, but if Fulham are the one club that were only linked with the player, initially, then they may step up their pursuit should they be genuinely interested. If the young Englishman wanted a logical move, rather than one made in desperation for his career at another relegation club, then Fulham sounds ideal. He would still be based, and therefore live, in London, and join a club that looks like it is going to be climbing the league in the next season or so.

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson is good at bringing the best out of players who were not fulfilling their true capabilities at their previous clubs. O’Hara is a technically good and hard-working player. His versatility will allow him to play in either the centre of midfield or on the left-hand side. The chances are that he will get noticed more at a reputable club like Fulham, and achieve what surely must be an ambition of his- to play for England- something he has only experienced at U21 level so far.