Portsmouth have been dealt a huge blow in the race to land £450k-rated West Brom starlet Josh Griffiths as it has been revealed that the shot-stopper wants to return to Cheltenham.
What's the talk?
According to Hampshire Live, Portsmouth are one of a number of clubs looking at Griffiths as a potential signing following his impressive campaign on loan at Cheltenham. Pompey are currently set to go into the 2021/22 campaign with one senior goalkeeper on the books, with Alex Bass the only player contracted beyond the end of the month between the sticks.
Cheltenham chairman Andy Wilcox has now claimed that Griffiths is eager to return for a second loan spell with the club and has reiterated that he would like the 19-year-old back as his club's number one. Wilcox told Gloucestershire Live:
"Ideally, we’d want Josh Griffiths back on loan as number one, but we’ll see how it goes.
Cowley will be gutted
Portsmouth's goalkeeper situation heading into next season is looking increasingly murky and this news is a huge blow to their plans.
Craig MacGillivray is unlikely to extend his contract, as per Hampshire Live, and that would leave Cowley without his trusted number one goalkeeper. MacGillivray played all 46 of Portsmouth's games in League One, keeping 15 clean sheets and conceding 51 goals. This shows how important he has been to Cowley and why his absence could leave a huge gap to fill this summer.
That gap now looks unlikely to be filled by £450k-rated West Brom goalkeeper Griffiths. The shot-stopper made 44 appearances in League Two for Cheltenham, keeping an incredible 21 clean sheets - conceding just 37 goals. He played a huge part in Cheltenham's title success in League Two as they had the best defensive record in the top six. From this perspective, it is easy to see why Wilcox wants to bring Griffiths back to the club for another season as the teenager heavily impressed during his first season in senior football.
Cowley will be gutted that Griffiths is eager to return to Cheltenham as it could prevent Portsmouth from being able to land the teenager this summer. Griffiths could now sign for Cheltenham, who are potential rivals for Portsmouth in League One next season, and Cowley will be left still searching for a new number one to replace MacGillivray, unless he suddenly decides to trust Bass with a first-team role. It will now be down to Portsmouth to scour the country in search of an alternative to Griffiths to bolster their goalkeeping unit.