Portsmouth have potentially been handed a transfer boost, regarding their pursuit of West Brom's Josh Griffiths.

What's the talk?

Cheltenham Town have officially confirmed the signing of goalkeeper Owen Evans from Wigan on a two-year deal this week. This could come as a boost to Portsmouth, as Cheltenham were interested in signing West Brom goalkeeper Josh Griffiths following his excellent spell with the club in the 2020/21 campaign.

Portsmouth are thought to be looking at Griffiths as Danny Cowley attempts to bolster his squad this summer to launch a promotion push in League One. Yorkshire Live has claimed that Portsmouth, Sheffield Wednesday and Lincoln are all eyeing the starlet.

Earlier this year, Cheltenham boss Michael Duff labelled Griffiths as top drawer following a string of strong performances for the club. He told the Express and Star:

“He’s at a Premier League club and the reason why they send him out on loan is so that he makes his mistakes with teams like us rather than in the Premier League.
“He’s been top drawer for us, he kept us in the game on Saturday against Bolton, and he’s got a chance of going right to the top. He’s got a good presence and good demeanour and he’ll learn from it.”

Fans will be buzzing

Portsmouth fans will be buzzing with this development as it could lead to the club sealing a deal for Griffiths ahead of next season. The club has a gigantic hole to fill in the coming months as they are set to lose Craig MacGillivray on a free transfer. MacGillivray is out of contract at the end of the month and is poised to depart from Fratton Park as Portsmouth are unable to match his wage demands, which means that Cowley will be losing his number one goalkeeper. Griffiths could, therefore, step in this summer and take over the number one spot. The 19-year-old could join on loan and provide a stop-gap for the next 12 months before Portsmouth are able to invest in a long term number one option if they are able to secure promotion to the Championship - rather than signing a cheaper goalkeeper who may not be able to make the step up if they achieve their goals.

The West Brom starlet was excellent for Cheltenham in League Two as they won the title last season. He kept 21 clean sheets and conceded 37 goals in 44 appearances in the league, which shows the consistency and quality he was able to provide Cheltenham in spite of his young age.

This suggests that he could be a great addition to Portsmouth's team.

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