A major update has emerged on Preston striker Jayden Stockley, one which will impact Portsmouth's transfer plans this summer.
What's the talk?
According to Hampshire Live, Portsmouth are set to miss out on a deal to sign Preston North End striker Jayden Stockley this summer. Pompey had agreed a fee with Preston for Stockley, but League One rivals Charlton are now the favourites to land his signature as that is the player's preferred destination.
The report claims that Portsmouth manager Danny Cowley was a keen admirer of Stockley and was eager to add him to his squad ahead of next season. Pompey are not the only League One team to be hit by this blow, as Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland and Ipswich have also been named being interested in Stockley.
Charlton owner Thomas Sandgaard lavished praise on the “prolific” forward upon his arrival at The Valley in January. He told London News Online:
“It’s great we have been able to bring in another prolific striker to the club. Jayden has shown he can score goals and gives us more options going forwards.
“Interest in Jayden was high, so I am delighted we have been able to bring him to Charlton. We have a strikeforce that will be the envy of many teams in our division, so I’m looking forward to seeing them in action.”
Cowley will be devastated
Portsmouth head coach Cowley will be devastated by this update. It had appeared as though Portsmouth were on course to win the race for Stockley, due to a prior report from Hampshire Live, but now, they have been dealt a cruel blow with Charlton pushing past them to snap him up.
After agreeing a fee with Preston, they will now watch Stockley join one of their League One rivals and potentially help them get promoted to the Championship next season if all goes well for Nigel Adkins.
The English dynamo was directly involved in 10 goals for Charlton in League One. He managed eight goals and two assists in 20 starts for the Addicks and was previously prolific for Exeter in the Football League, scoring an impressive 49 goals in 98 games whilst also providing seven assists. This shows that he has a proven track record of performing in the EFL and that he could have been an added goal threat for Cowley's team, which is why the Pompey boss was keen to sign him from Preston.
Goalscoring is not his only strength as a striker. Stockley's target man play for Charlton was exceptional last season as he averaged 9.8 aerial battles won per game. He was also dispossessed just 0.8 times per game, which shows that he was able to hold on to the ball well without defenders taking it off him - offering a valuable outlet for teams who need to clear the ball away and get up the pitch.
Cowley will be devastated that he has missed out on a deal for Stockley at the last minute, given how good a player he's proven to be at the League One level.
AND in other news, Get it done: Pompey must seal deal for “great” £2.2k-p/w ace after Cowley's comments...