How close Portsmouth came to signing Millwall's Ben Thompson

But Blues fans have been told just how close their club came to signing Ben Thompson before the close of the last transfer window.

Inevitably, Thompson’s name has surfaced again among the Fratton faithful in the January window as Kenny Jackett searches for some driving midfield quality.

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That follows on from Pompey missing out on the 25-year-old in October as the deal was killed by Brighton’s Jayson Molumby deciding not to move to The Den before the close of the window.

Some fans have raised doubts about how close the move was to be finalised, but in the latest Pompey Talk, which you can download HERE, Blues writer Jordan Cross reveals the short distance the move was to getting over the line.

Cross said: ‘It looks like it’s off the table at the moment (a move for Thompson).

‘But I don’t necessarily think it’s off the table for good.

‘I know there’s an element of fans who think it was never on the cards.

‘But Pompey were close, very close last window to getting Ben.

‘It was to the point that the social media team were discussing ways they could announce Ben’s arrival. That’s an indicator of how close he was to coming to Pompey.’

Thompson is once again finding regular playing time hard to come by at the club he supports, starting one game since November 25, but boss Gary Rowett has made it clear he values the player.

Cross believes a significant stumbling block would be convincing Thompson to step down to League One again.

He added ‘Take Millwall (and their thoughts) out of the equation, Ben does not want to step down to League One at the moment.

‘He’s made reasonable progress over the past couple of years and shown he’s a Championship player - I understand he’s earned that opportunity.

‘As much as he appreciates Pompey and has so many friends here, it may not work now.

‘In the summer things may be different if Pompey are in the Championship. It’s a different question quite possibly then.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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