The Insider: Pompey target Hanson's nickname is bruiser

Jamie Hanson is a whole-hearted, tough tackling, combative player who will always give 100 per cent.

He’s a versatile player and we’ve seen him play right-back and centre-back for the reserves and under-23s at times.

On his debut at Norwich, he scored from a corner, with the delivery going straight through John Ruddy’s hands.

In that game, he also got a bang on the head and ended up with a bloody bandage around his head – that sums up his style.

His nickname his bruiser, which tells you all you need to know!

He’s got a bit of bite to him and endeared himself to the Derby fans when they played rivals Nottingham Forest a few seasons ago.

Hanson produced a crunching challenge on one of the Forest players.

I’m not sure it was entirely legal but it certainly got the approval of the fans.

He is also not bad on set-pieces as well and has quite a nice delivery.

Hanson is not a big lad but he’s a tough cookie.

Whenever he has come into the first team, he’s always done a decent job.

However, he’s has always been back-up and has never really been able to nail down a place.

There are people in front of him now more than ever.

With the likes of Tom Huddlestone, Joe Ledley and even George Thorne, you are talking about quality internationals.

It’s hard for Hanson to break into the team at the moment and he’s had injury problems this season which have hampered him.

Hanson has since come back and played for the under-23s, before coming on late in the FA Cup tie at Manchester United, which isn’t a bad place to make your first appearance of the season.

In the past couple of league games, he’s been on the bench as cover, but Derby haven’t needed him.

Last season, Hanson went on loan to Wigan.

Speaking to the journalists up there, they’ve said he didn’t have the best of times but it was through no fault of his own.

He went into a struggling team who were trying to stay in the Championship.

They signed about 20 players in the January transfer window and it was a difficult place for him to go to, although he would have got valuable experience there.

He’s still just 22 but it seems like he’s been around ages.

Hanson is a steady performer and I certainly think he could do a job for someone at the lower end of the Championship or in League One.